Giselle & Joe own our favourite bookshop/coffee shop – worth the tuk-tuk ride every time. Whether just for a great coffee, browsing the latest selection on the shelves, a light lunch, a naughty piece of delicious homemade cake or enjoying some engaging conversation with them….
“People have been telling stories for thousands of years – think cave paintings, sculpture, dance, poetry, music, writing… we tell stories to communicate, learn and make sense of the world.
The ability to tell stories is uniquely human. It keeps record of the learnings from past generations, helping us to strive.
There is an old Sage in all of us, curious, inquisitive, primed to learn what the Wild world has to teach.”
How long has W&tS been open?
(J) We opened on April 14th, 2022, actually on the day of Sri Lankan New Year, we had no idea… and there was the Sri Lankan protests going on in Colombo which we were pretty ignorant to, because we were constantly brushing and cleaning brass doorknobs…
(G) I think we were so immersed in getting the place open that we didn’t realise how difficult it would be with the crisis going on… anyway, yes, we opened in April 2022 in the middle of Sri Lankas financial crisis, around two years ago.
How would you describe the store?
(J) Small
(G) I would describe the store as a cute, cosy, independent book shop.
(J) A charming, cozy, and deeply personal space with a warm welcome to all.
(G) We were fortunate to find our property, brimming with character, exactly what we desired—a place with personality.
Researching the local book culture revealed a stark contrast: retail-focused bookshops akin to supermarkets—harsh lighting, disorganization, and mass retail vibes. We craved the opposite—a cozy sanctuary – big, inviting sofas, lush garden retreats.
(J) It’s a space where we’d happily loose ourselves in a book, work or simply be.
With so many books in the world to choose from – old, new and so many genres how do you select the titles you want to sell?
(J) I think I just choose the books I want to read, that I would find interesting. Books I feel can alter or change people’s perspective of the world and their understanding of cultures – all the books we have curated, we research into them, read about almost every book and every cover, so we know everything that’s there
(G) I think we’re just very lucky that Joe has impeccable taste in books and a lot of the books are selected by him. We do tag team a little bit – I’m maybe more in touch with popular culture, what’s current and around, then he vets them for quality…
(J) I think by choosing the books we like, it makes us want to speak to our customers and recommend books with passion and eagerness – if we had all the best seller books, we’d create a distance between us and the customer, this way it’s more personal.
What is/are your favourite book/s of all time?
(J) That’s a hard one… I think one book that I could say, that got me back into reading after a long break is Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad; the whole book is an allegory that stays in my mind more often than others because it’s also the book I lent Giselle when I first got to know her and she’s the only one who’s returned the book back, by the way, without ever reading it…!
(G) Heart of Darkness, that’s your favourite?
(J) One of the favourites… and then in philosophy, it’s The Book of Mirdad by Mikhail Naimy, it’s very poetic and philosophical; you have to read it a bunch of times to understand what the author wants to portray. From the environments section I also like a book, which you like too.
(G) Brading Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, is one of my all-time favourite books, because it’s a combination of poetic writing with a science base; the author writes about indigenous wisdom of Native Americans and talks from so many different angles, she’s also a biologist, so it’s scientific base helps. I think, for western communication, because it’s very hard for us, for me anyway, to understand some of the more spiritual practises, but it’s really interesting how it’s all intertwined with all his reasons.
Fiction wise one of my favourites is A Gentleman in Moscow, although it’s quite commercially popular now, I love it!
(J) Sri Lankan authors, since we’re in Sri Lanka – there’s a lot of civil war-based books but from all that, two books that come to my mind, one is, What Lies Between Us by Nayomi Munaweera.
(J) Not to forget, The Village in the Jungle is written by Leonard Woolf, Virginia Woolf’s husband, when he was based here. The book was written in 1912 and is the first English literature book ever written which is not from the colonial perspective, it’s
the first book written from the indigenous tribes’ perspective yet written by a colonial.
(G) You could read it again and again, especially for anyone who lives in Sri Lanka, I love it, it’s really good.
Who is Wild and who is The Sage?
(G) I personally think it’s very clear who is Wild and who is the Sage…
(J) …but the magician never exposes his secrets – I think there is a bit of wisdom in wilderness and there’s a bit of wildness in wisdom and sage, and I think that’s what we are, we’re a bit of each other at the same time where we’re different; just like Ying and Yang, the left and the right and the ups and downs of life – so who is Wild and who is the Sage? I think it’s up to the perceiver…
(G) there’s a bit of Wild and Sage in everyone…
Any plans for the future, upcoming new events?
(G) Yes, we are currently extending our kitchen and are going to be opening in the evenings, at least three nights a week for dinner. I think we’ve created this beautiful, cosy space and it feels like it’s just made for warm, romantic evenings, dinners by candlelight – small plates and wine … so that’s what we’re doing next, it’s exciting. In terms of events, we are carrying on with workshops, our monthly book club and coming soon, we will be expanding our author events to other speakers/lecturers, different types of talks and subjects, highlighting current topics of interest on the South Coast, from environmentalism to theatre, which we will run these throughout the summer months and into the season.
Find out more about the goings-on at Wild & the Sage @wildandthesage and wildandthesage.com