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Mr. Wu (granta.com)
148 points by apollinaire on Dec 5, 2018 | hide | past | favorite | 25 comments



I clicked through to the story planning on downvoting it for being offtopic. I was wrong.

What a touching story. The world needs more people like Mr Wu.


I loved the part about his insistence on paying the bill, going so far as feigning illness to go pay the cashier. I've got drawn up in these bill paying fights, but that's next level.


Really? It's pretty opaque what the topic might be to begin with.


Yes. I dislike the title, and wish it was edited to give a better idea, but the story is good.


At least this story was written deliberately in a style that brought you in, even if you didn't know where you were going, and you were happy to come along for the ride.

OTOH there are quite a few articles in HN like "Update 2.1 on WhizBangBlahBlah" and I have to read half the article before I know what a WhizBangBlahBlah is and why I might want one. :/



As an alternative opinion, I try to minimize the amount of time I spend on both social media and news. I appreciate long form writing, but I'm no longer willing to invest in reading without the expectation of something of value learned or perspective gained. It's a shame, but my reading list is already too long and there are certainly worthwhile articles I can be sure my time is well spent.


I appreciated not knowing too much about it, and discovering along the way.

If your journeys are all signposted, you will only end up where you expected.


Seems important considering the points. But neither do I know who Mr. Wu is nor do I care to read 10 paragraphs into the text to find out.

Can you give a quick summary?


He's nobody. The author is nobody. It's a story of a homecoming, of a friendship and a reunion. That is all. I thought it was lovely, but it's just a nice story.


What's the summary? Or at least what should be the lede?


Read it to find out :)


This is an example of when submissions should have a descriptive title.


Maybe a little odd but when I was little I called my grandfather Mr. Wu and I never could remember why.


That's it? I was expecting something more at the end.


It did end rather abruptly. Beautiful, but not a great story. Sort of like how I feel about Westworld.


I guess it's to be expected, but there definitely needs to be a part 2...


There are so many lovely subtle references to the Old Beijing warmth and quirks (such as bellowing into the phone in a fancy cafe).


Reminds me a bit of the landlady in Wong Kar Wai's In The Mood For Love ;)


Loved it! This was a great read. Thank you for sharing


What a wonderful story! Glad to see such a story about China. US news doesn't do a good job humanizing the people of China.


Can't believe that table-full of dishes is called smörgåsbord in this article.


Guli


This is an interesting choice for a first post. What does it possibly mean? Why was this enough to finally get you to sign up after all those years of reading without response?

In context, are you saying that the piece is "encouraging"? https://dictionary.hantrainerpro.com/chinese-english/transla...

Are you Georgian and saying that you "heart" the piece? https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=guli

Are you from a place named Guli and just leaving graffiti? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guli

A devoted but taciturn fan of the long distance runner Mina Guli? https://www.minaguli.com

Don't leave us in suspense!


Sometimes I think the US could do with a communist revolution. Then I realize the semi-luxurious half acre plot my parents live in will have to be shared with a couple of other probably very poor families. I don't know, just a random thought when I read it, and how lucky it is to be in the top 10% wealthy in the US.




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