Les Mots à la Bouche has been on Rue Saint-Croix de la Bretonnerie in the Marais since 1980, which means it predates the neighbourhood's current profile by some years and has a claim to having helped establish the cultural character of the street. The bookshop specialises in LGBTQ+ literature — French and international — alongside a general literary selection that does not require categorisation to justify being on the shelves. The layout is two levels connected by a narrow stair; the lower level, reached by descent, has the concentrated atmosphere of a room that knows exactly what it is and has been confident about it for forty years. The essay and theory sections are strong, and the French-language literary fiction selection includes titles that don't appear in the larger generalist shops nearby. It is a shop where the curation reflects a particular editorial position rather than a commercial calculation.
Le Marais, Paris, France