The bouquinistes of Tbilisi are largely unknown, mainly because they have
newly formed along the Mtkvari River. Bouquinistes are booksellers that sell
their pre-loved, second-hand, and used books from ‘green boxes’ attached to the
walled river bank and locked when not in use.
The bouquinistes of Paris are legendary, and the three kilometres of
bouquinistes along the Seine River are registered as a UNESCO World Heritage
site. In Paris there are 240 bouquinistes with about 900 green boxes.
The green boxes of Parisian bouquinistes are 2 metres long by 0.75 metres
wide. The green boxes of the Tbilisi bouquinistes are smaller – at half the
length. And they are not green – they are metallic black with wooden fronts. Near
the Dry Bridge, the row of 60 green boxes, nicely numbered, are adjacent to the
skate park and green space where dog walkers meander and people perform their
exercises.
MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:-
The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends
(2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan
Curse (2009).
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