What begins as a worker’s memoir of time as a courier for various firms in China blooms into a much more expansive reflection on work and its relationship with other aspects of modern life. The first hints of the profundity that Anyan wrings from his experiences as a worker come when the narrator learns that his firm will be closing in a few weeks and he begins to see his usual route in a new light:

I suddenly had plenty of time on my hands, like a once-scorned pauper who had struck it rich overnight. I got to enjoy the luxury of squandering time, as if it was a form of revenge. I had felt crushed by the constant need to exploit every second for so long, my time as tightly strung as my nerves, that I’d become used to work being just about coping

An account of his ups and downs as a courier then moves further back in his working life, each section identified by the job he was working at the time. He describes his time as a would be bohemian, an employee at various comic book publishers, a bustling clothing wholesaler, a gas station attendant, as well as his budding interest in literature and writing. He explores how each of these jobs shaped both his time and his mental state as well as how his own social anxiety led to conflict with his fellow workers.

The moving and subtle shifts from the mundane to the profound reminded me of the work of Noah Cicero, another writer who uses his working life as a way of exploring the human and universal. I picked up this book wanting to learn about the experience of workers in China on the assumption that the system of production was quite different, or at least at a different stage, as that of the US. It delivered in that regard but provided a much more moving and profound narrative that was a very pleasant surprise. Anyone who has been among the most productive people at a crappy job will find many similarities to Anyan’s experiences. His eye for detail and blunt yet generous approach to examining not only his actions but the actions of others produce something great in this work.

I deliver parcels in Beijing / Hu Anyan ; translated by Jack Hargreaves. Astra House, 2025.