Teacher Fei is an unusual man. He is a 64 year old retired elementary school art teacher who lives at home with his mother. He has never been married nor has he had sexual relations with a female. His mother’s health is failing so he spends a lot of time taking care of her.
Whenever Teacher Fei gets the chance to get out and away from his mother, he goes to a local internet cafe to visit chat rooms and read articles. He comes across an article about a girl who believed her father has cheated on her mother. The father and mother have separated and the girl is seeking revenge on her father and suing him.
Teacher Fei feels defensive for the father and seeks him out. He goes to his work and begs him to go to a nearby cafe to talk. We find out a lot about Teacher Fei during their discussion. (I won’t give away spoilers here). Teacher Fei encourages the father to fight back.
This is a very interesting story set in China. It is only eight pages but really packs a punch. It touches on life in communist China and has suspense. It kept me turning the pages. Highly recommended! It appeared in The New Yorker and you can read it here. I have never read anything by Yiyun Li before but she is on my TBR now!
5/5
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