Kirjahaku

"One of China's most remarkable new literary talents." --Edward White, Financial TimesA runaway bestseller in China, sold in 17+ countries, this delightfully honest and humorous account gives a face and voice to the future of work--as if Nomadland met Nickel and Dimed. In 2023, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing became the literary sensation of the year in China. Hu Anyan's story, about short-term jobs in various anonymous megacities, hit a nerve with a generation of young people 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: his nights were so hot that he could drink three liters of water without taking a toilet break; his days were spent searching for affordable rooms with proper air-conditioning; and his few moments of leisure were consumed by calculations of the amount of alcohol needed to sleep but not feel drowsy a few hours later. Hu Anyan tells us about brutal work, where there is no real future in sight. But Hu is armed with deadpan humor and a strong idea of self. He moves on when he feels stuck--from logistics in the south, to parcel delivery in Beijing, to other impossible jobs. Along the way, he turns to reading and writing for strength and companionship. I Deliver Parcels in Beijing is an honest and startling first-person portrait of Hu Anyan's struggle against the dehumanizing nature of our contemporary global work system--and his discovery of the power of sharing a story.

Under de tio år som gått sedan Huan Yan började arbeta har han rest runt i landet. Han har haft olika jobb, inklusive kurir, nattarbetare på logistikföretag, butikspersonal i cykelaffär, klädbutik och bensinstation. Han omvandlar vardagens detaljer och arbetets glädje och sorg till uppriktiga självberättelser och dokumenterar en vanlig persons slit, själviskhet, värme och integritet i livet. Dessa arbetsupplevelser, skrivna i efterhand, genomsyras av hans inställning och reflektion över livet och världen och syftar till att uttrycka hans konfrontation och bekräftelse av livets mening mitt i begränsade valmöjligheter och trånga realiteter: många vanliga och varaktiga ögonblick i livet är mer avgörande för ens liv än olika verkliga bekymmer.

Hu Anyanilla on ollut valmistumisensa jälkeen 19 työpaikkaa. Hän on kiertänyt kaupungista toiseen ja elättänyt itsensä muun muassa pikalähettinä, vartijana, myyjänä ja leipurina – ja etsinyt uuden hanttihomman, kun työ on käynyt liian kurjaksi ja pomo liian painostavaksi. Salaviisaissa ja hiljaisen humoristisissa muistelmissaan Hu Anyan kuvaa pitkiä öitä hikisissä lajittelukeskuksissa, lähettivuorojen jatkuvaa kiirettä ja pienellä palkalla sinnittelyä, mutta myös hykerryttäviä kohtaamisia ja suosikkikirjojensa tarjoamaa lohtua. Teos avaa ikkunan nyky-Kiinaan, antaa äänen yhteiskuntaa näkymättömissä pyörittäville työläisille ja kysyy, mikä lopulta tuo elämään merkityksen. Hu Anyanin (s. 1979) esikoisteos on noussut Kiinassa sukupolvi-ilmiöksi, ja sen käännösoikeudet on myyty 19 kielialueelle.

A Book of the Year in the Guardian, Sunday Times, Economist and the Financial Times Hu Anyan has held nineteen different jobs since he graduated. He’s been a convenience store clerk, a bicycle salesman, a security guard and a delivery driver (among many other things). Every time the work gets punishing or the bosses too bossy, he moves on, from city to city, carrying with him nothing but his copies of Chekhov and Carver. This is his story. A runaway bestseller in China, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing is about what it’s like to try and make a living – and stay sane – in the gig economy. From the pecking order on a parcel-sorting factory floor to the perfect alcohol dose to get some daylight shut-eye before a punishing night shift, from the Kafkaesque bureaucracy of the hiring departments to the ideal layout of a delivery route, Hu illuminates the hidden lives behind the roles that keep our world going. But he also shows how, through the liberating power of literature, he finds solace, and even freedom in his existence. Quietly radical, brimming with humanity and humour, this book asks: what does work really mean? What should it mean? And do any of us really know how to live?