{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260417T232332Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1662603045?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"1662603045","authors":["Hu AnYan","Jack Hargreaves"],"book_id":"9781662603044","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/i-deliver-parcels-in-beijing-1662603045","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781662603044.jpg?v=20260417T232332Z%3A2026-04-17T23%3A23%3A32Z","description":"An Economist Best Book of 2025 A Financial Times Best Book of 2025 A Sunday Times Best Book of 2025 \"Hu Anyan’s I Deliver Parcels in Beijing , translated by Jack Hargreaves, offers an unvarnished dispatch from the front lines of the gig economy...The Cinderella bit of it is that now he can add a new title: internationally best-selling author.\" — Leah Greenblatt, The New York Times Book Review A runaway bestseller in China, sold in 20+ 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.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781662603044","publication_date":"20251028","publisher":"Astra Publishing House","slug":"i-deliver-parcels-in-beijing","subtitle":"","title":"I Deliver Parcels in Beijing"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"TRV003020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"China Travel","score":0.735,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"BIO002020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Asian & Asian American Lives","score":0.7242,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LCO004010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Chinese Literary Collections","score":0.7203,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"TRV003020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"China Travel","score":0.735,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"BIO002020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Asian & Asian American Lives","score":0.7242,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LCO004010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Chinese Literary Collections","score":0.7203,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"BIO002000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Cultural Heritage Lives","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"BIO026000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Personal Memoirs","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"SOC026030","confidence_band":"high","label":"Urban Life","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"China Travel","score":0.735,"slug":"china-travel"},{"label":"Asian & Asian American Lives","score":0.7242,"slug":"asian-asian-american-lives"},{"label":"Chinese Literary Collections","score":0.7203,"slug":"chinese-literary-collections"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy China Travel","Good for readers interested in short stories","Good for readers who enjoy China Travel and Asian & Asian American Lives."],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Alix Dick","Antero Garcia","Alíx Dick","Antero García"],"book_id":"9780807014943","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780807014943.jpg?v=20260417T232332Z%3A2026-04-17T23%3A23%3A32Z","score":11.8904,"title":"The Cost of Being Undocumented","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780807014943"},{"authors":["Ernesto Che Guevara","Walter Salles","Cintio Vitier","Aleida Guevara"],"book_id":"9781644210680","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781644210680.jpg?v=20260417T232332Z%3A2026-04-17T23%3A23%3A32Z","score":11.8413,"title":"The Motorcycle Diaries","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781644210680"},{"authors":["Caitlin Doughty","Recorded Books","Landis Blair"],"book_id":"9780393356281","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780393356281.jpg?v=20260417T232332Z%3A2026-04-17T23%3A23%3A32Z","score":11.8227,"title":"From Here to Eternity","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780393356281"},{"authors":["Monica Wood"],"book_id":"9780544002326","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780544002326.jpg?v=20260417T232332Z%3A2026-04-17T23%3A23%3A32Z","score":10.2132,"title":"When We Were the Kennedys","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780544002326"},{"authors":["Steve Coll"],"book_id":"9780143115199","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780143115199.jpg?v=20260417T232332Z%3A2026-04-17T23%3A23%3A32Z","score":9.5138,"title":"On the Grand Trunk Road","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780143115199"},{"authors":["Declan Walsh"],"book_id":"9781324020257","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781324020257.jpg?v=20260417T232332Z%3A2026-04-17T23%3A23%3A32Z","score":9.4632,"title":"The Nine Lives of Pakistan","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781324020257"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:history"],"label":"History","score":0.9238,"slug":"history"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:biography"],"label":"Biography","score":0.088,"slug":"biography"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:biographies"],"label":"Biographies","score":0.0718,"slug":"biographies"},{"evidence_refs":["phrase_map_match"],"label":"Short Stories","score":0.0624,"slug":"short-story"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:sociology"],"label":"Sociology","score":0.0518,"slug":"sociology"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: History, Biography, Biographies.","Reading lane: China Travel and Asian & Asian American Lives.","Publisher: Astra Publishing House."]},"llm_signals":null,"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":false,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":184,"goodreads_ratings_count":2152,"goodreads_reviews_count":445,"quality_score":0.9476}}