Local News

New independent Somerville bookstore almost sells out after grand opening

Narrative near Davis Square will focus on books by and about people of color, owner Mila Hossain said, but the stories are for everyone.

Photo by Molly Farrar

May 27, 2024

2 minutes to read

A line of readers stretched down Highland Avenue waiting for Narrative, Davis Square’s new, independent bookstore that focuses on telling stories by and about people of color.

Narrative, a quaint shop with white shelves lining green walls, was packed on Sunday for the grand opening. Book pages covered the lights on the high ceilings, and orange armchairs completed the shop’s warm energy.

Owner Mila Hossain initially introduced the new store in December and announced opening day just last week. Despite the short notice, the independent bookstore almost completely sold out its initial stock on Sunday, Hossain said on Instagram after the opening.

“It was so overwhelming to see how much you all believed in Narrative and what I’m trying to do through it,” she wrote.

Hossain, 31, said she turned to books when she moved from Bangladesh to New York about 20 years ago. Since then, she’s lived in Los Angeles and Colorado, but Somerville has stood out as home for her, and for Narrative.

“This is the most at home I think I’ve ever really felt,” Hossain told Boston.com. “A big part of that is when we first moved here we were just kind of walking around exploring and … we heard so many different people speaking so many different languages.”

Titles at Narrative in Davis Square. – Molly Farrar

The shelves were lined with books like “Martyr!” by Kaveh Akbar, “Hijab Butch Blues” by Lamya H and “Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe” while the used book section had familiar favorites like “Twilight” and “The Kite Runner.” Hossain also stocked copies of books by R.F. Kuang, who stopped by the shop to sign copies of her bestselling novels “Yellowface” and “Babel.”

“This is going to be a store where you walk in, and there’s representation everywhere,” Hossain said. “They are by people of color, they are also for people of color, but they are for everyone.”

During the pandemic, Hossain said @browngirltherapy, a mental health community on Instagram led by Sahaj Kaur Kohli, helped her grow and begin to dream about Narrative. Kohli will be at Narrative Tuesday night to highlight her new book “But What Will People Say?”

“It’s like the full circle type of thing,” Hossain said. “She’s going to be my first author talk, which is really, really wild because it started with her work.”

Previously, Hossain hosted two sessions of “Pathways to Healing,” a discussion about AAPI mental health and generational trauma, with Panethnic Pourovers in Quincy. On Monday, Narrative hosted its first on-site event with a children’s book reading ahead of Kohli’s event on Tuesday.

Looking ahead, Hossain said she’s hoping for regular programming like author talks as well as smaller creative gatherings.

“I wanted to create a space for people where they can come and find connection somehow and feel a little bit less lonely and feel a little bit more joy,” she said, “And that’s for everyone.”