I Deliver Parcels in Beijing
A runaway besteller in China, sold in 15+ countries, this delightfully honest and humorous account gives a face and voice to the silent majority. Think Nomadland crossed with Nickel and Dimed through a contemporary lens of Asian philosophy about the nature of work. In 2023, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing became a literary sensation of the year in China. The story of a worker doing odd jobs in various anonymous mega-cities, Hu Anyan’s voice hit a nerve with a generation of young Chinese who feel at odds with an ever-growing pressure to perform and succeed. Hu started posting essays about his experiences online during COVID lockdowns. His recollection of night shifts in a huge logistics center in the south of China went viral: nights so hot that even drinking three liters of water does not require a toilet break; colleagues going for karaoke instead of trying to get a few hours' sleep; where are the affordable rooms with proper air-conditioning, and what is the best amount of alcohol in order to sleep but not feel drowsy a few hours later? The work is brutal, and there is no real sense of future in sight. But Hu is armed with a deadpan sense of humor and a strong idea of self, he moves on when he feels stuck: from logistics in the south to delivering parcels in Beijing, over to other odd jobs, all the while also discovering the power of reading and writing. A unique first-person portrait of a society we never hear from but everyone has opinions about and benefits from.