A Thousand Blues

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Discover the Korean runaway prizewinning bestseller for fans of LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR and KLARA AND THE SUN

Let's all learn how to slow down ...
2035: In the shadow of a race course, a young woman finds a robot named Coli on a scrap heap, contemplating the sky. Intrigued, she takes him into her care and learns how he is designed to be a humanoid jockey who has mistakenly been programmed to have feelings.

She and Coli are determined to rescue his beloved race horse who is heading for the knackers' yard after a lifetime of overwork. To remind the horse of happier times, they hatch a special plan to let her run another race.

But it will be no ordinary event- they will train her to run the slowest time of her life.

In the heat of the race, Coli feels the horse running too fast. She is in pain and will soon injure herself.

To save his friend, Coli will commit one final act of bravery ...

Radiant, urgent, deeply moving, A Thousand Blues is a hymn to our earth and to our humanity, giving powerful voice to those left behind in a fast-moving world of toxic productivity and competition. Brimming with heart, hope and rage, it shows how friendship, community and sacrifice will set us free.

'A stunning story of love, care and sacrifice' BORA CHUNG, author of CURSED BUNNY

'A stunningly crafted novel, evoking a myriad emotions' Kim Bo-young

‘A dazzling, warm novel that shows us how to move forward as a society without leaving anyone or anything behind' Choi Jin-young, author of To the Warm Horizon

© Cheon Seon-Ran 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025