From Hong Kong to Honeoye Falls: independent bookstore Bleak House Books turns the page

It is unusual to find a bookshop with a story that deserves space on its own shelves. One such place is Bleak House Books, a new independent bookstore in Honeoye Falls that will have its grand opening Saturday.

Its narrative arc is positively novelistic: from humble beginnings to well-earned success before an unforeseen downfall. Then, at last, owners Albert Wan and Jenny Smith hope — a happy resolution.

The store occupies a roomy ground-level space in the middle of downtown Honeoye Falls. But this is its second incarnation. The first opened its doors in January 2018 on the 27th story of an office building in an industrial section of Hong Kong.

Wan, the New York-born son of two Hong Kong immigrants, left a career as a lawyer in Atlanta to start the store along with Smith, a historian. "Bleak House" is a Charles Dickens novel about an interminable courtroom proceeding, a nod to their love of literature as well as Wan's legal career.

A small space in a high-rise was an unlikely location for a bookstore, but they couldn't afford anything better in an ultra-competitive real estate market.

Over the next few years, Wan and Smith slowly built up a reputation for the store as an outpost for quality English language literature.

"It was a challenge to find a community — create a community — of people you could trust and talk to," Wan said. "It was tough at first. On most days no one came. It was a challenge mentally as well as financially."

One of the things that eventually brought them attention was their support of the pro-democracy protest movement that began in Hong Kong in 2019. Wan and Smith agreed with protesters who saw the mainland Chinese government as a threat to civil liberties and democratic values.

Critiques of authoritarianism by George Orwell and Timothy Snyder were among their best sellers. As the atmosphere for a progressive independent bookstore devolved, it became clear they needed to leave.

"The government was relentless in cracking down on all forms of civil society that they deemed a threat," Wan said. "I had a feeling books and bookstores would get on their radar at some point."

The final day in Hong Kong was Oct. 15, 2021.

"As George Orwell once remarked, ‘In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues,'" Wan wrote in a farewell blog post. "Given the state of politics in Hong Kong, Jenny and I can no longer see a life for ourselves and our children in this city, at least in the near future."

Wan and Smith gave away all their books and started planning their next move. They knew they wanted to reopen the store back in the United States, but weren't sure where.

They'd made their move from Atlanta without a particularly strong tie to Hong Kong. So it was with their second great move, from Hong Kong to Honeoye Falls.

Neither of them had ever been to Rochester.

But online research showed them it would be affordable and climate change-resilient, with access to good health care and the outdoors.

After a few months of exploring, they hit upon an empty retail space in downtown Honeoye Falls. It had one immediate advantage over their Hong Kong store: "It's a place where you wouldn't be surprised to find a bookstore," Wan said.

Indeed, it's an ideal space for a bookstore with twice the square footage as the old one. Bright windows along the front of the store give it a street-front presence they previously couldn't have dreamed of; a custom neon sign shows the store logo and its name in English and Cantonese.

They hired architects, designers and local carpenters to outfit the space with a large central island and 52-foot long bookshelves that reach from floor to ceiling. A ceiling mural is one of several elements tying back to the Hong Kong space. There's a small space for children to the side and glass cases for collectible used books.

"It was very sad to have to close the shop in Hong Kong, so opening this one was a feat of willpower," Wan said. "We wanted Bleak House Books to continue in a different life."

The store has been open since June. Wan said the grand opening is "a way of thanking the community for being so supportive since we've opened."

The event will be from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. It will feature author appearances, interactive book art and printmaking activities, food and live music starting at 7 p.m. by guitarist Kenneth Kam.

5 questions with Bleak House Books co-owner Jenny Smith

What's the last great book you read? I am delaying finishing "Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead" by Olga Tocarczuk because I love it so much and I don't want it to end.

What is a book you like to give as a gift? I tend to give cookbooks that I want to own as presents. At home we have too many cookbooks so I feel like I can't in good conscience bring any new ones into the ecosystem, but I love to have a peek at the recipes in new cookbooks before I pass them on to others. I'm planning to do this with Clarissa Wei's "Made in Taiwan" cookbook this holiday season.

What is a book that reminds you of your time in Hong Kong? There's a wonderful Hong Kong artist, Don Mak. He has a children's picture book called "Once Upon a Time in Hong Kong" that definitely makes me think of Hong Kong every time I open it up. Albert and I are both big Don Mak fans; we have two different prints of his hanging up in our kids section.

What's your ideal setting for reading? I love to read at the library. If I'm at home I'm likely to be trying to sneak in a little reading while making dinner, or building a list of new books to order for the shop. When I'm at a library it feels like reading is my only job. Perfect!

How do you mark your page when you're reading? I usually just memorize the page I'm on. My kids use insane things as bookmarks like bananas, dirty socks and other, larger books. I'm trying to balance out our family book karma.

— Justin Murphy is a veteran reporter at the Democrat and Chronicle and author of "Your Children Are Very Greatly in Danger: School Segregation in Rochester, New York." Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/CitizenMurphy or contact him at jmurphy7@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Honeoye Falls: Bleak House Books gets new life after fleeing Hong Kong