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I Deliver Parcels in Beijing
I Deliver Parcels in Beijing came into my radar after the youtuber / streamer Atrioc mentioned the book during a greater conversation about the gig economy in the United States. The book, with Beijing being in the title, is not obviously not about the United States, but still has made a name for itself within economic circles because of its relation to the gig economy. The book is a true autobiographical story told from the perspective of lifelong worker Hu Anyan. I do believe lifelong worker is a proper title to give him. The book very explicitly is about his work experiences throughout his life, of which he has had many, always jumping from one job to the next. Given how I learned about the book, I figured that I Deliver Parcels in Beijing was going to be a very deliberately written muckraking work against the horrors of the Chinese parcel industry. And, I suppose it does achieve that, as someone who truly is "on the outside looking in" regarding Chinese current events and socioeconomic struggles of your average Chinese citizen, Hu Anyan's writings serve as incredible insight. The book surprised me however, in that the main purpose of the book didn't seem to be concerned with dismantling any positive brand preception of Chinese parcel delivery giants. Rather, it was a much more personal piece that chose to tackle the ideas of freedom and passion, and the contradictory nature of modern society with these pursuits of freedom.
The very first chapter of I Deliver Parcels in Beijing recounts Hu's experiences in a logistics warehouse. There is absolutely no doubt that the working conditions of this company, and the practices they employed were borderline horrific. Hu goes through his days working at this warehouse. Twelve hour shifts of backbreaking work, moving packages, labeling packages, and everything in between. The best part about this book is how incredibly down to earth Hu is, both as a writer and seemingly as a person too. He was a dilligent worker at every job that he recounts in his book, always receiving the favor of higher-ups or other coworkers.