Story Time: A Man Like Him

A Man Like Him by Yiyun Li, is loosely based on or inspired by an online fodder happened in China some time ago: a daughter using her web sites to expose her father's alleged infidelity and seeks justice online. Li's short story, appears on the May 12 New Yorker, centers on a retired elementary school art teacher, Teacher Fei, who unlike most other online netizens, takes the side of the father. Fei eventually meets up with the father and forms some kindred relationship the brief moment they share in a little diner before they part their way to return to their own places where there are actually nothing worth to return to. The protagonist insists "He has nothing to say about this world." Not so for Li. She seems to be just warming up. She has plenty to say about this world, the Chineseness of Chinese people, their past and present in China and in foreign lands.