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觳� 臧滌潣 韺岆瀾
Discover the Korean runaway prizewinning bestseller for fans of Lonely Castle on 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 on a scrap heap, contemplating the sky. Intrigued, she takes him under her care. Together, they decide to rescue the racehorse named Today, heading for the knackers' yard after a lifetime of overwork. To make Today happy again, they hatch a special plan to let her run another race.
But it will be no ordinary event鈥攖hey will train her to run the slowest time of her life.
In the heat of the race, Coli feels Today running too fast. She is in pain and will soon injure herself.
To save his beloved horse, Coli will commit one final act of bravery ...
Radiant, urgent, and deeply moving, A Thousand Blues is a hymn to our earth and to our humanity, giving a powerful voice to those left behind in a fast-forward world of toxic productivity and competition. Brimming with heart, hope, and rage, it shows with vivid empathy and warmth how friendship, community, and sacrifice will set us free.
鈥楢 sci-fi novel full of human warmth'
Let's all learn how to slow down...
2035: In the shadow of a race course, a young woman finds a robot on a scrap heap, contemplating the sky. Intrigued, she takes him under her care. Together, they decide to rescue the racehorse named Today, heading for the knackers' yard after a lifetime of overwork. To make Today happy again, they hatch a special plan to let her run another race.
But it will be no ordinary event鈥攖hey will train her to run the slowest time of her life.
In the heat of the race, Coli feels Today running too fast. She is in pain and will soon injure herself.
To save his beloved horse, Coli will commit one final act of bravery ...
Radiant, urgent, and deeply moving, A Thousand Blues is a hymn to our earth and to our humanity, giving a powerful voice to those left behind in a fast-forward world of toxic productivity and competition. Brimming with heart, hope, and rage, it shows with vivid empathy and warmth how friendship, community, and sacrifice will set us free.
鈥楢 sci-fi novel full of human warmth'
376 pages, Paperback
First published August 19, 2020
69 people are currently reading
2433 people want to read
About the author
Cheon Seon-ran
7听books23听followersBorn in 1993, Cheon Seon-ran is a beloved author by the 鈥楳Z Generation鈥� (Millennials and Gen Z) of South Korea. A graduate from the department of creative writing in Anyang Arts High School, she holds a master鈥檚 degree in creative writing from Dankook University. She dreams of living in a world where humans become the minority in a world of flora and fauna. She is always thinking what the end of the world will look like, and what is happening elsewhere in the universe. One day, she decides to pen her thoughts down in this novel. A Thousand Blues won the 4th Korea Sci-fi Literature Award. She is the author of several novels and short-story collections.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
May 13, 2025
鈥楾ime flows differently for each person even when they shared the same space, they remembered different things even when they looked at the same thing, and they did not know how others felt unless they talked about it. Sometimes they say one thing but mean another. They seemed intent on using all their energy to constantly hide their true feelings. Even so, from time to time, humans understood what others were feeling even if they didn't talk about it, and faced the same direction even as they looked at different things. Their experience of time sometimes aligned even when they were apart鈥�.鈥�
RTC at a later date.
RTC at a later date.
April 5, 2025
鞚措寑搿滊姅 欤届柎.
旖滊Μ電� 攴鸽爣瓴� 靸濌皝頄堧嫟.
攴鸽灅靹� 攴鸽偁, 甏€欷戩劃鞚� 杲� 彀� 電︗棳毽勳潣 瓴疥赴鞐愳劀 旖滊Μ電� 鞀れ姢搿� 雮欕頄堧嫟
At this rate she will die.
And that was why, during a late summer race before a crowd of thousands, C-27 purposely threw itself onto听the听ground.
A Thousand Blues is translated by Chi-Young Kim from the original 觳滉皽鞚� 韺岆瀾 by 觳涤劆霝赌 (Cheon Seon-ran).
Winner of the 2019 頃滉淡瓿柬暀氍疙暀靸� (Korean Sci-Fi Literature Award), this is a novel very much in the territory of Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun - or rather, since this was published earlier, more accurately Klara and the Sun is fishing in the territory of A Thousand Blues. That applies to the subject matter - centered around a cognitive robot - but also to the style, rather sentimental and close to a children's novel, and although part-dystopian, books which focus on the perspective of a small number of characters, with little information on the wider setting.
The novel is set in 2035. The development of robots has continued to advance and horse racing has been given a boost as a result, the racetrack in 瓿检矞 (Gwacheon) currently known as (霠涭笭霟绊寣韥�) is now thriving, and renamed:
As the racecourse park was located right by Seoul Grand Park, which housed an amusement park among other attractions, it boasted a nickname highlighting its status as an amusement park solely for grownups: The Other Land of Dreams.听 When the new robot jockeys appeared on the scene several years ago, the tired racecourse park began drawing renewed excitement. These jockeys were incredible. They didn鈥檛 get hurt or die, even when they fell off the horses, though they did get discarded once they were too damaged. But now that the jockeys were liberated from the specter of death, the horses ran faster and faster. The sheer thrill of watching the racing speeds climb, breaking records, brought people back, and as enormous amounts of digital cash infused the betting pool, more people came, searching for a huge payday.
(present-day entrance to the racecourse)
C-27 was manufactured in Daejoen, Korea, designed with the single-purpose of being a robot jockey, but during the manufacturing process was accidentally given an advanced-chip, intended for a humanoid robot, giving C-27 cognitive and learning capabilities. Partnered with a horse Today (韴嵃鞚�) the two form more of a bond than the more basic robots, leading the duo to become stars until, one day in a race, C-27 realises that Today is being pushed past her limits, and deliberately falls from the horse, being trampled by other horses.
The third-person narrative perspective switches between various characters (see below), but is wrapped by a first-person introduction and closing chapter told by C-27, which in the novel's opening pages describes a deliberate fall but, careful reading will reveal, a second, later one.
Post the initial fall, the badly mangled C-27 is marked for the scrap heap, and Today, increasingly suffering from arthritis, marked for euthanisation rather than the bucolic meadows of Jeju, but for the intervention of two sisters, Yeonjae (鞐办灛) and Eunhye (鞚€順�), whose widowed mother, a former actress, runs a restaurant that caters to weekend racegoers.
Yeonjae, socially isolated, is in to robotics, and Eunhye is in a wheelchair, cripped by polio (presciently the author presumably anticipating the toxic influence of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) but both are drawn to the racecourse, and to the robot and horse respectively. Yeonjae persuades the stablemaster to sell her the shattered C-27, who she rebuilds and re-christens Coli (旖滊Μ), after his broccoli-like green colour, and the two girls, the sentient robot and an assorted collection of co-conspirators (their cousin, a journalist investigating race-fixing; the ethically-minded racecourse vet; and a school-mate of Yeonjae who wants to partner with her in a robotics competition to boost her college application; even a favour called in from an inveterate gambling convenience store owner who had replaced Yeonjae's part time job with a robot) embark on a plan to give Today one last chance of life.
(the 2024 stage production of the novel, using an actual robot to play Coli - from the )
3 stars for personal taste - rather like Klara and the Sun (and I think this is the stronger book) not entirely my thing, but well done (4* on its own terms). And rather more original than the wave of Healing Laundry-cum-Coffee-cum-Bookshop Korean novels in translation, while still having the same life-affirming message at heart.
Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for an ARC.
旖滊Μ電� 攴鸽爣瓴� 靸濌皝頄堧嫟.
攴鸽灅靹� 攴鸽偁, 甏€欷戩劃鞚� 杲� 彀� 電︗棳毽勳潣 瓴疥赴鞐愳劀 旖滊Μ電� 鞀れ姢搿� 雮欕頄堧嫟
At this rate she will die.
And that was why, during a late summer race before a crowd of thousands, C-27 purposely threw itself onto听the听ground.
A Thousand Blues is translated by Chi-Young Kim from the original 觳滉皽鞚� 韺岆瀾 by 觳涤劆霝赌 (Cheon Seon-ran).
Winner of the 2019 頃滉淡瓿柬暀氍疙暀靸� (Korean Sci-Fi Literature Award), this is a novel very much in the territory of Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun - or rather, since this was published earlier, more accurately Klara and the Sun is fishing in the territory of A Thousand Blues. That applies to the subject matter - centered around a cognitive robot - but also to the style, rather sentimental and close to a children's novel, and although part-dystopian, books which focus on the perspective of a small number of characters, with little information on the wider setting.
The novel is set in 2035. The development of robots has continued to advance and horse racing has been given a boost as a result, the racetrack in 瓿检矞 (Gwacheon) currently known as (霠涭笭霟绊寣韥�) is now thriving, and renamed:
As the racecourse park was located right by Seoul Grand Park, which housed an amusement park among other attractions, it boasted a nickname highlighting its status as an amusement park solely for grownups: The Other Land of Dreams.听 When the new robot jockeys appeared on the scene several years ago, the tired racecourse park began drawing renewed excitement. These jockeys were incredible. They didn鈥檛 get hurt or die, even when they fell off the horses, though they did get discarded once they were too damaged. But now that the jockeys were liberated from the specter of death, the horses ran faster and faster. The sheer thrill of watching the racing speeds climb, breaking records, brought people back, and as enormous amounts of digital cash infused the betting pool, more people came, searching for a huge payday.
(present-day entrance to the racecourse)
C-27 was manufactured in Daejoen, Korea, designed with the single-purpose of being a robot jockey, but during the manufacturing process was accidentally given an advanced-chip, intended for a humanoid robot, giving C-27 cognitive and learning capabilities. Partnered with a horse Today (韴嵃鞚�) the two form more of a bond than the more basic robots, leading the duo to become stars until, one day in a race, C-27 realises that Today is being pushed past her limits, and deliberately falls from the horse, being trampled by other horses.
The third-person narrative perspective switches between various characters (see below), but is wrapped by a first-person introduction and closing chapter told by C-27, which in the novel's opening pages describes a deliberate fall but, careful reading will reveal, a second, later one.
Post the initial fall, the badly mangled C-27 is marked for the scrap heap, and Today, increasingly suffering from arthritis, marked for euthanisation rather than the bucolic meadows of Jeju, but for the intervention of two sisters, Yeonjae (鞐办灛) and Eunhye (鞚€順�), whose widowed mother, a former actress, runs a restaurant that caters to weekend racegoers.
Yeonjae, socially isolated, is in to robotics, and Eunhye is in a wheelchair, cripped by polio (presciently the author presumably anticipating the toxic influence of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) but both are drawn to the racecourse, and to the robot and horse respectively. Yeonjae persuades the stablemaster to sell her the shattered C-27, who she rebuilds and re-christens Coli (旖滊Μ), after his broccoli-like green colour, and the two girls, the sentient robot and an assorted collection of co-conspirators (their cousin, a journalist investigating race-fixing; the ethically-minded racecourse vet; and a school-mate of Yeonjae who wants to partner with her in a robotics competition to boost her college application; even a favour called in from an inveterate gambling convenience store owner who had replaced Yeonjae's part time job with a robot) embark on a plan to give Today one last chance of life.
(the 2024 stage production of the novel, using an actual robot to play Coli - from the )
3 stars for personal taste - rather like Klara and the Sun (and I think this is the stronger book) not entirely my thing, but well done (4* on its own terms). And rather more original than the wave of Healing Laundry-cum-Coffee-cum-Bookshop Korean novels in translation, while still having the same life-affirming message at heart.
Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for an ARC.
November 20, 2024
"You do not have to run if it hurts too much. You are already on track. That is more than enough."
I've been pondering how to write this review because I want it to do justice to A Thousand Blues. But alas, I'm a scatterbrain hot mess so bear with me here. The summary here is that it's a heavy book that will break your heart but also feel like a hug, sort of like .
Now, I don't want to play the comparison game here, but it's the best way I can talk about this book. deals with human connection, the brutality of being young, family issues, and bullying (amongst other heavy topics). A Thousand Blues deals with a different set of topics that are equally devastating: animal rights, grief, the people that are left behind once your work is taken over by robots/AI, disability rights, being poor, AND going through life trying to avoid bad feelings.
I know, I know. It's a lot. This book is a lot and I found it to be perfectly balanced.
A Thousand Blues is the story of Coli and Today. Coli is a sentient robot made for the sole purpose of riding a horse (Today) in horse races. Today gets hurt during a race and Coli falls down the horse, getting trampled over by all the horses that ran behind. Therefore, Coli will be destroyed and Today will be euthanized. That is until two sisters come into the scene and work together to save both Coli and Today.
The story is told in POVs: Coli's, the sisters, the mother, and Today's vet. They all go through their own different stories and struggles, which is why this book has so much going on. I found the mother's chapters to be the most devastating for me and I found myself crying more than I'd like to admit. And, as dumb as it is, everything about Today made me furious (and as dumb as this will sound, reading about Today's love for running and the ending just had me sobbing. I love running and I saw myself in there lol).
I came into this book knowing nothing of the story and I almost stopped reading: I hate AI and sentient robots, the fact that the robot is named Broccoli made my eye twitch when I first read it. But I'm so glad I gave it a chance because this is one of the best books I've read in ages.
Bits I liked:
"She wished she had run so far away that she wouldn't have been able to come back. Instead of stopping at the racetrack she should have gone all the way to the southern tip of the Korean peninsula. She had not made the most of that first chance at freedom, and after that she hadn't come across another."
---
"Are you being avoidant?
No, I'm not.
Then why are you hiding?
So I won't be so exhausted.
Are you sure you're not running away?"
---
"'Time, for me, is frozen. It froze while I was waiting for him, while he was in that burning build-ing. It froze during the span of time I believed he would-must-walk out alive.'
'Why?' asked Coli.
'I've forgotten how to make time start ticking again.'"
---
"'Time keeps passing as long as you re not dead. Even if it stops for a moment it's not a problem.
Coli didn't respond.
'In fact, maybe that's not a bad thing for time to stop for a moment. If you speed through life you miss things.'"
Thank you Doubleday for the ARC! This is an unbiased review.
I've been pondering how to write this review because I want it to do justice to A Thousand Blues. But alas, I'm a scatterbrain hot mess so bear with me here. The summary here is that it's a heavy book that will break your heart but also feel like a hug, sort of like .
Now, I don't want to play the comparison game here, but it's the best way I can talk about this book. deals with human connection, the brutality of being young, family issues, and bullying (amongst other heavy topics). A Thousand Blues deals with a different set of topics that are equally devastating: animal rights, grief, the people that are left behind once your work is taken over by robots/AI, disability rights, being poor, AND going through life trying to avoid bad feelings.
I know, I know. It's a lot. This book is a lot and I found it to be perfectly balanced.
A Thousand Blues is the story of Coli and Today. Coli is a sentient robot made for the sole purpose of riding a horse (Today) in horse races. Today gets hurt during a race and Coli falls down the horse, getting trampled over by all the horses that ran behind. Therefore, Coli will be destroyed and Today will be euthanized. That is until two sisters come into the scene and work together to save both Coli and Today.
The story is told in POVs: Coli's, the sisters, the mother, and Today's vet. They all go through their own different stories and struggles, which is why this book has so much going on. I found the mother's chapters to be the most devastating for me and I found myself crying more than I'd like to admit. And, as dumb as it is, everything about Today made me furious (and as dumb as this will sound, reading about Today's love for running and the ending just had me sobbing. I love running and I saw myself in there lol).
I came into this book knowing nothing of the story and I almost stopped reading: I hate AI and sentient robots, the fact that the robot is named Broccoli made my eye twitch when I first read it. But I'm so glad I gave it a chance because this is one of the best books I've read in ages.
Bits I liked:
"She wished she had run so far away that she wouldn't have been able to come back. Instead of stopping at the racetrack she should have gone all the way to the southern tip of the Korean peninsula. She had not made the most of that first chance at freedom, and after that she hadn't come across another."
---
"Are you being avoidant?
No, I'm not.
Then why are you hiding?
So I won't be so exhausted.
Are you sure you're not running away?"
---
"'Time, for me, is frozen. It froze while I was waiting for him, while he was in that burning build-ing. It froze during the span of time I believed he would-must-walk out alive.'
'Why?' asked Coli.
'I've forgotten how to make time start ticking again.'"
---
"'Time keeps passing as long as you re not dead. Even if it stops for a moment it's not a problem.
Coli didn't respond.
'In fact, maybe that's not a bad thing for time to stop for a moment. If you speed through life you miss things.'"
Thank you Doubleday for the ARC! This is an unbiased review.
March 14, 2025
"饾檾饾櫎饾櫔 饾櫃饾櫎 饾櫍饾櫎饾櫓 饾櫇饾櫀饾櫕饾櫄 饾櫓饾櫎 饾櫑饾櫔饾櫍 饾櫈饾櫅 饾櫈饾櫓 饾櫇饾櫔饾櫑饾櫓饾櫒 饾櫓饾櫎饾櫎 饾櫌饾櫔饾櫂饾櫇. 饾檾饾櫎饾櫔 饾櫀饾櫑饾櫄 饾櫀饾櫋饾櫑饾櫄饾櫀饾櫃饾櫘 饾櫎饾櫍 饾櫓饾櫑饾櫀饾櫂饾櫊. 饾檹饾櫇饾櫀饾櫓 饾櫈饾櫒 饾櫌饾櫎饾櫑饾櫄 饾櫓饾櫇饾櫀饾櫍 饾櫄饾櫍饾櫎饾櫔饾櫆饾櫇."
A Thousand Blues is an unexpectedly moving and endearing tale that takes place in a world where most of the labor that humans used to do has been replaced by robots. It is a heartwarming and sweet story while exploring some pretty heavy themes like grief, regret, animal rights, and disability rights. The story follows Yeonjae, a young woman who finds Coli, a robot on a scrap heap, looking up at the blue sky. Something about the robot draws her in and she decides to take him in. Together they rescue Today, a racehorse who's been overworked and is about to be sent to the knackers鈥� yard. Their plan is to train Today for one last race but it鈥檚 not just any race. Instead of trying to win, they want her to run the slowest race of her life.
Coli and Today are definitely the 'heart' of the book, and their relationship is truly special and sweet. Coli, despite being a robot has this endearing, childlike curiosity about the world. His questions about life and purpose are so simple but also profound. You can鈥檛 help but feel for him as he tries to understand what it means to be alive and its purpose. What I also love about the book is how it gives different characters the chance to share their perspective, each one adding depth to the story. Some of these perspectives are heartbreaking, especially Bogyeong, Yeonjae鈥檚 mom. She described her grief for her deceased husband as "time being frozen." It was so raw and moving. Coli鈥檚 chapters were also my favorites. The way he keeps asking questions about life and the world around him is so endearing. It made me think about how easy it is to get caught up in the chaos of life and forget to ask those simple, important questions. What鈥檚 the reason for its existence? What really matters? It was such an intriguing perspective, and Coli鈥檚 innocence feels so tender and innocent that makes his chapter so interesting to read and heartwarming.
Overall, the book does have the same vibe as Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura, though both tackle vastly different themes. However, both books have that same beautiful melancholic tone, where hope and sadness are handled in a delicate balance. A Thousand Blue is such a beautiful, thoughtful story about slowing down and reconnecting with the world around you. It鈥檚 a reminder that in a world that鈥檚 always moving too fast, sometimes the most important thing we can do is just stop, breathe and focus on what really matters. The emotional depth, the thought-provoking themes, and the heartfelt characters, make this a truly memorable read. Giving this 4.25 猸愶笍 Thank you @timesreads for this review copy!
A Thousand Blues is an unexpectedly moving and endearing tale that takes place in a world where most of the labor that humans used to do has been replaced by robots. It is a heartwarming and sweet story while exploring some pretty heavy themes like grief, regret, animal rights, and disability rights. The story follows Yeonjae, a young woman who finds Coli, a robot on a scrap heap, looking up at the blue sky. Something about the robot draws her in and she decides to take him in. Together they rescue Today, a racehorse who's been overworked and is about to be sent to the knackers鈥� yard. Their plan is to train Today for one last race but it鈥檚 not just any race. Instead of trying to win, they want her to run the slowest race of her life.
Coli and Today are definitely the 'heart' of the book, and their relationship is truly special and sweet. Coli, despite being a robot has this endearing, childlike curiosity about the world. His questions about life and purpose are so simple but also profound. You can鈥檛 help but feel for him as he tries to understand what it means to be alive and its purpose. What I also love about the book is how it gives different characters the chance to share their perspective, each one adding depth to the story. Some of these perspectives are heartbreaking, especially Bogyeong, Yeonjae鈥檚 mom. She described her grief for her deceased husband as "time being frozen." It was so raw and moving. Coli鈥檚 chapters were also my favorites. The way he keeps asking questions about life and the world around him is so endearing. It made me think about how easy it is to get caught up in the chaos of life and forget to ask those simple, important questions. What鈥檚 the reason for its existence? What really matters? It was such an intriguing perspective, and Coli鈥檚 innocence feels so tender and innocent that makes his chapter so interesting to read and heartwarming.
Overall, the book does have the same vibe as Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura, though both tackle vastly different themes. However, both books have that same beautiful melancholic tone, where hope and sadness are handled in a delicate balance. A Thousand Blue is such a beautiful, thoughtful story about slowing down and reconnecting with the world around you. It鈥檚 a reminder that in a world that鈥檚 always moving too fast, sometimes the most important thing we can do is just stop, breathe and focus on what really matters. The emotional depth, the thought-provoking themes, and the heartfelt characters, make this a truly memorable read. Giving this 4.25 猸愶笍 Thank you @timesreads for this review copy!
March 20, 2025
A charming poignant read for a scifi. Set in the near future of 2035, I followed two sisters; Yeonjae and Eunhye who shared a deep love to a retired racehorse named Today. When they discovered that Today will set to be euthanised, both decided to embark on a mission to save her. They are joined by Coli (once known as C-27), a humanoid robot jockey who had rode on Today in races but was put to dispose before Yeonjae picked and fixed it for a second life chance.
I fancied its melancholic tone and way it was told through multiple POVs from Yeonjae to Eunhye, their mom, Bogyeong as well as Coli. Their backstories were so emotionally rich and loved how the author observed that beauty of familial relationships, of love and empathy with that glimpse of impact on technology or AI in Coli鈥檚 narrative鈥� I liked how it sensed vibration like a feeling, and could distinguished Bogyeong鈥檚 family as according to the colors of a sky. It gets quite heartfelt too on the friendship part in between Jisu and Yeonjae, about Minju also how Bokhui, the vet who treated Today entered the premise with her POV and giving more dynamics to the whole execution.
It felt more or a slice of life rather than a scifi to me, probably a reason why I enjoyed the read more than I thought I would. It has that charm which absorbed me to further read esp when all teaming up to help Today. There was a slight of grief exploration in Bogyeong鈥檚 narrative that engrossed me, of companionship, one鈥檚 responsibility and what it truly means to care for both the living and non-human beings.
A compelling read overall, would recommend if you鈥檙e into futuristic arc or literary scifi fans and love a human, animal and tech connection theme. 4.2/5*
Thank you Times Reads for the gifted proof copy!
I fancied its melancholic tone and way it was told through multiple POVs from Yeonjae to Eunhye, their mom, Bogyeong as well as Coli. Their backstories were so emotionally rich and loved how the author observed that beauty of familial relationships, of love and empathy with that glimpse of impact on technology or AI in Coli鈥檚 narrative鈥� I liked how it sensed vibration like a feeling, and could distinguished Bogyeong鈥檚 family as according to the colors of a sky. It gets quite heartfelt too on the friendship part in between Jisu and Yeonjae, about Minju also how Bokhui, the vet who treated Today entered the premise with her POV and giving more dynamics to the whole execution.
It felt more or a slice of life rather than a scifi to me, probably a reason why I enjoyed the read more than I thought I would. It has that charm which absorbed me to further read esp when all teaming up to help Today. There was a slight of grief exploration in Bogyeong鈥檚 narrative that engrossed me, of companionship, one鈥檚 responsibility and what it truly means to care for both the living and non-human beings.
A compelling read overall, would recommend if you鈥檙e into futuristic arc or literary scifi fans and love a human, animal and tech connection theme. 4.2/5*
Thank you Times Reads for the gifted proof copy!
December 5, 2022
毂呾潉 鞚疥碃 鞖鸽崢 霑岅皜 鞛堨棃雮�?
旖滊Μ霃� 旖滊Μ歆€毵�,
歆€靾橃潣 毵愳澊 雮橃潣 毵堨潓鞚� 雿� 鞖鸽牳雼�.
鞏挫⿲氅� 氍挫嫭頃橂┐靹滊弰 鞙勴晿電� 攴� 毵堨潓.
瓴瓣淡 毵愴晿歆€ 鞎婌溂氅� 鞎勲霃� 氇ジ雼り碃~!
頃橃毵�, 頃橁碃鞁鹅潃 毵愳潉 毵堦惮毵堦惮 頃橂┐ 攴戈贝 瓴瓣淡 鞎堩晿電愲媹 氇豁晿瓴犾鈥�?
旖滊Μ霃� 旖滊Μ歆€毵�,
歆€靾橃潣 毵愳澊 雮橃潣 毵堨潓鞚� 雿� 鞖鸽牳雼�.
鞏挫⿲氅� 氍挫嫭頃橂┐靹滊弰 鞙勴晿電� 攴� 毵堨潓.
瓴瓣淡 毵愴晿歆€ 鞎婌溂氅� 鞎勲霃� 氇ジ雼り碃~!
頃橃毵�, 頃橁碃鞁鹅潃 毵愳潉 毵堦惮毵堦惮 頃橂┐ 攴戈贝 瓴瓣淡 鞎堩晿電愲媹 氇豁晿瓴犾鈥�?
March 22, 2025
"Because it's all too fast," he said."It's okay to be a little slower, isn't it?"
Welp, didnt expect to get this emotionally attached to a robot and boy, I cried reading that last chapter. Give me a moment to grieve for how beautifully rendered this book is 馃槶馃槶
Ser in a near future in 2035 where robots have become part of the society, human labors are slowly being replaced by robots, jockeys for racehorse are now manned by robots, technological advances are the new norms. A Thousand Blues is a deeply moving novel of a beautiful exploration on relationhsip & bond between family members, the co-existence of animals, humans and robots in this novel that brought a lot of questions on our own existence and nature. When a robot jockey was left to be scrapped after damaged from a racehorse, a girl named Yeonjae bought it to bring home to fix while C-27 or Coli dreamed of meeting its horse partner, Today again. Yeonjae's family consisted of her mother, Bogyeong a tenacious woman working as a single mom and her older sister, Eunhye, dreamed of being free while struggling as wheelchair bound due to her polio. Amidst of the unhappiness & struggle, there were strengths, perseverance shown by these three women as they worked as a family unit even if they never really shared their feelings openly
Its devastatingly mellow with tinge of sorrows as the story moved with various perspectives from each of these characters & we get to know their inner thoughts personally. I like that we also get the robot Coli or Broccoli named after its green head on its view on life, its not alive, its a machine but this robot was mistakenly inserted with a chip that gave it high emotional intelligence. Coli was as alive as a robot can be, he appreciated the colors in the world, he love looking up at the sky, he may not understand the concept of happiness but he knew Today is happy when its running, he is curious about everything, he is well conversed & he knew his human's emotions well. As I read this novel, there were many heartbreaks, joy, grief & sadness throughout, my heart ached for these characters especially Coli & his bond with Today. This was an emotional read for me as I didnt expect to cry for the final ending 馃ゲ
A Thousand Blues was a beautiful, heartwrenching story on taking it slow in a fast world. With various perspectives from a robot named Coli with its partner racehorse, Today, the humans around them in this deeply moving tale of a story with hope & loss that made me cry for them馃ズ
Thank u Times Reads for the review copy
Welp, didnt expect to get this emotionally attached to a robot and boy, I cried reading that last chapter. Give me a moment to grieve for how beautifully rendered this book is 馃槶馃槶
Ser in a near future in 2035 where robots have become part of the society, human labors are slowly being replaced by robots, jockeys for racehorse are now manned by robots, technological advances are the new norms. A Thousand Blues is a deeply moving novel of a beautiful exploration on relationhsip & bond between family members, the co-existence of animals, humans and robots in this novel that brought a lot of questions on our own existence and nature. When a robot jockey was left to be scrapped after damaged from a racehorse, a girl named Yeonjae bought it to bring home to fix while C-27 or Coli dreamed of meeting its horse partner, Today again. Yeonjae's family consisted of her mother, Bogyeong a tenacious woman working as a single mom and her older sister, Eunhye, dreamed of being free while struggling as wheelchair bound due to her polio. Amidst of the unhappiness & struggle, there were strengths, perseverance shown by these three women as they worked as a family unit even if they never really shared their feelings openly
Its devastatingly mellow with tinge of sorrows as the story moved with various perspectives from each of these characters & we get to know their inner thoughts personally. I like that we also get the robot Coli or Broccoli named after its green head on its view on life, its not alive, its a machine but this robot was mistakenly inserted with a chip that gave it high emotional intelligence. Coli was as alive as a robot can be, he appreciated the colors in the world, he love looking up at the sky, he may not understand the concept of happiness but he knew Today is happy when its running, he is curious about everything, he is well conversed & he knew his human's emotions well. As I read this novel, there were many heartbreaks, joy, grief & sadness throughout, my heart ached for these characters especially Coli & his bond with Today. This was an emotional read for me as I didnt expect to cry for the final ending 馃ゲ
A Thousand Blues was a beautiful, heartwrenching story on taking it slow in a fast world. With various perspectives from a robot named Coli with its partner racehorse, Today, the humans around them in this deeply moving tale of a story with hope & loss that made me cry for them馃ズ
Thank u Times Reads for the review copy
April 22, 2025
鈩曫潟狆潟ヰ潟欚潟氿潟燄潟� 饾暁饾暉 饾暐饾暀饾暁饾暏 饾暔饾暊饾暎饾暆饾晻 饾晼饾暕饾暁饾暏饾暐饾暏 饾暔饾暁饾暐饾暀饾暊饾暒饾暐 饾晵 饾暎饾晼饾晵饾暏饾暊饾暉.
鉅赌
Coli est un robot jockey mis au rebut apr猫s une chute. Today est une jument qui va 锚tre euthanasi茅e maintenant qu鈥檈lle ne peut plus courir. YeonJae et EunHye, deux s艙urs pas sp茅cialement proches, vont chacune s鈥檃ttacher 脿 un de ces deux 锚tres et vont tout faire pour changer leur vie.
鉅赌
饾晙饾晽 饾暏饾暊饾暈饾晼饾暊饾暉饾晼鈥欚潟� 饾晵饾暏饾暅饾暁饾暉饾晿 饾晽饾暊饾暎 饾暀饾晼饾暆饾暋, 饾暁饾暐鈥欚潟� 饾暉饾暊饾暐 饾暎饾暁饾晿饾暀饾暐 饾暐饾暊 饾暋饾暎饾晼饾暐饾晼饾暉饾晻 饾暘饾暊饾暒 饾晹饾晵饾暉鈥欚潟� 饾暀饾晼饾晵饾暎 饾暐饾暀饾晼饾暈.
鉅赌
Je ne connaissais pas du tout ce ce roman mais j鈥檃i absolument ador茅 ma lecture. On est pourtant assez loin de ce que j鈥檃ime quand j鈥檡 pense. D茅j脿, parce que sans la pr茅sence de Coli, on aurait du mal 脿 pouvoir consid茅rer ce roman comme de la SF. M锚me en l鈥櫭﹖at, on est plut么t sur du contemporain avec un robot histoire de dire que c鈥檈st quand m锚me de l鈥檌maginaire. On rajoute 脿 莽a une bonne dose de positivit茅, d鈥檈spoir et de bon sentiment et 莽a nous donne, en th茅orie, mon plus grand cauchemar鈥� Bon ben 莽a m鈥檃 quand m锚me beaucoup plu.
鉅赌
Concr猫tement il ne se passe pas grand chose dans ce roman au rythme tr猫s lent (on est vraiment sur de la tranche de vie ici) mais l鈥檃utrice nous propose des personnages vraiment attachants qui nous donnent vraiment envie de les suivre. Que l鈥檕n parle de Coli, tr猫s touchant avec sa na茂vet茅 et sa curiosit茅 tr猫s enfantines, de l鈥檋istoire des deux s艙urs et de leur m猫re, pleine de non-dits, ou bien de Today, tr猫s digne dans sa douleur et toujours heureuse lorsqu鈥檈lle court malgr茅 ses articulations en piteux 茅tat, on peut tous trouver quelque chose dans ce roman qui nous parlera.
鉅赌
L鈥檃utrice va beaucoup nous parler de famille, d鈥檃miti茅, de r茅silience. Elle va aussi aborder des sujets de soci茅t茅 comme les horreurs qu鈥檕n fait subir aux animaux pour notre propre divertissement, la condescendance et l鈥檌nfantilisation que peuvent subir beaucoup de personnes en situation de handicap, ou encore les robots (plut么t les IA pour nous en ce moment) qui volent le travail d鈥櫭猼res humains. Une belle petite le莽on de vie en quelque sorte.
鉅赌
Je ne sais pas si mon avis va tellement vous donner envie - 饾殞饾殬饾殩饾殭饾殱饾殠 饾殱饾殠饾殫饾殲 饾殟饾殠 饾殩饾殠饾殰 饾殣饾殬饾殲虃饾殱饾殰 饾殦饾殠 饾殫饾殠 饾殭饾殠饾殫饾殰饾殠 饾殭饾殜饾殰 饾殮饾殲饾殠 饾殞饾殠饾殱饾殱饾殠 饾殞饾殤饾殯饾殬饾殫饾殥饾殮饾殲饾殠 饾殩饾殠 饾殟饾殬饾殫饾殫饾殠饾殯饾殜饾殥饾殱 饾殱饾殯饾殠虁饾殰 饾殠饾殫饾殶饾殥饾殠 饾殜虁 饾殩饾殬饾殥-饾殩饾殠虃饾殩饾殠 - mais je pense que c鈥檈st un livre qui m茅rite d鈥櫭猼re d茅couvert. Il faut juste le prendre pour ce que c鈥檈st : un roman tranche de vie touchant et plein de charme qui nous interroge un peu sur notre rapport au monde et nous encourage 脿 ralentir un peu.
鉅赌
饾晭饾晼 饾晵饾暆饾暆 饾暉饾晼饾晼饾晻 饾暋饾暎饾晵饾晹饾暐饾暁饾晹饾晼 饾暏饾暆饾暊饾暔饾暁饾暉饾晿 饾晻饾暊饾暔饾暉.
鉅赌
Coli est un robot jockey mis au rebut apr猫s une chute. Today est une jument qui va 锚tre euthanasi茅e maintenant qu鈥檈lle ne peut plus courir. YeonJae et EunHye, deux s艙urs pas sp茅cialement proches, vont chacune s鈥檃ttacher 脿 un de ces deux 锚tres et vont tout faire pour changer leur vie.
鉅赌
饾晙饾晽 饾暏饾暊饾暈饾晼饾暊饾暉饾晼鈥欚潟� 饾晵饾暏饾暅饾暁饾暉饾晿 饾晽饾暊饾暎 饾暀饾晼饾暆饾暋, 饾暁饾暐鈥欚潟� 饾暉饾暊饾暐 饾暎饾暁饾晿饾暀饾暐 饾暐饾暊 饾暋饾暎饾晼饾暐饾晼饾暉饾晻 饾暘饾暊饾暒 饾晹饾晵饾暉鈥欚潟� 饾暀饾晼饾晵饾暎 饾暐饾暀饾晼饾暈.
鉅赌
Je ne connaissais pas du tout ce ce roman mais j鈥檃i absolument ador茅 ma lecture. On est pourtant assez loin de ce que j鈥檃ime quand j鈥檡 pense. D茅j脿, parce que sans la pr茅sence de Coli, on aurait du mal 脿 pouvoir consid茅rer ce roman comme de la SF. M锚me en l鈥櫭﹖at, on est plut么t sur du contemporain avec un robot histoire de dire que c鈥檈st quand m锚me de l鈥檌maginaire. On rajoute 脿 莽a une bonne dose de positivit茅, d鈥檈spoir et de bon sentiment et 莽a nous donne, en th茅orie, mon plus grand cauchemar鈥� Bon ben 莽a m鈥檃 quand m锚me beaucoup plu.
鉅赌
Concr猫tement il ne se passe pas grand chose dans ce roman au rythme tr猫s lent (on est vraiment sur de la tranche de vie ici) mais l鈥檃utrice nous propose des personnages vraiment attachants qui nous donnent vraiment envie de les suivre. Que l鈥檕n parle de Coli, tr猫s touchant avec sa na茂vet茅 et sa curiosit茅 tr猫s enfantines, de l鈥檋istoire des deux s艙urs et de leur m猫re, pleine de non-dits, ou bien de Today, tr猫s digne dans sa douleur et toujours heureuse lorsqu鈥檈lle court malgr茅 ses articulations en piteux 茅tat, on peut tous trouver quelque chose dans ce roman qui nous parlera.
鉅赌
L鈥檃utrice va beaucoup nous parler de famille, d鈥檃miti茅, de r茅silience. Elle va aussi aborder des sujets de soci茅t茅 comme les horreurs qu鈥檕n fait subir aux animaux pour notre propre divertissement, la condescendance et l鈥檌nfantilisation que peuvent subir beaucoup de personnes en situation de handicap, ou encore les robots (plut么t les IA pour nous en ce moment) qui volent le travail d鈥櫭猼res humains. Une belle petite le莽on de vie en quelque sorte.
鉅赌
Je ne sais pas si mon avis va tellement vous donner envie - 饾殞饾殬饾殩饾殭饾殱饾殠 饾殱饾殠饾殫饾殲 饾殟饾殠 饾殩饾殠饾殰 饾殣饾殬饾殲虃饾殱饾殰 饾殦饾殠 饾殫饾殠 饾殭饾殠饾殫饾殰饾殠 饾殭饾殜饾殰 饾殮饾殲饾殠 饾殞饾殠饾殱饾殱饾殠 饾殞饾殤饾殯饾殬饾殫饾殥饾殮饾殲饾殠 饾殩饾殠 饾殟饾殬饾殫饾殫饾殠饾殯饾殜饾殥饾殱 饾殱饾殯饾殠虁饾殰 饾殠饾殫饾殶饾殥饾殠 饾殜虁 饾殩饾殬饾殥-饾殩饾殠虃饾殩饾殠 - mais je pense que c鈥檈st un livre qui m茅rite d鈥櫭猼re d茅couvert. Il faut juste le prendre pour ce que c鈥檈st : un roman tranche de vie touchant et plein de charme qui nous interroge un peu sur notre rapport au monde et nous encourage 脿 ralentir un peu.
鉅赌
饾晭饾晼 饾晵饾暆饾暆 饾暉饾晼饾晼饾晻 饾暋饾暎饾晵饾晹饾暐饾暁饾晹饾晼 饾暏饾暆饾暊饾暔饾暁饾暉饾晿 饾晻饾暊饾暔饾暉.
April 14, 2025
Set in 2035, the story follows Coli, originally named C-27, a green-colored robot designed to assist with horse racing. Unlike other machines, Coli is curious, constantly asking 鈥渨hy鈥� as it seeks to understand and communicate鈥攅specially with its equine partner, Today. Their bond grows strong, and Today becomes a racing sensation worth hundreds of millions. But behind her success, she鈥檚 in pain鈥攁 truth everyone ignores except Coli. In a desperate act of loyalty, Coli sacrifices itself during a race, leading to Today鈥檚 disqualification and its own shutdown.
馃 I loved the concept behind this story. At first glance, it might seem like a classic sci-fi tale about a robot and a racehorse, but it turns out to be something much deeper鈥攁n exploration of life, human relationships, and the invisible struggles we often overlook. It also presents an intriguing perspective on our relationship with technology and the ways in which technology can impact our jobs.
馃 What I found most captivating was how the story unfolded beyond just Coli and Today鈥檚 journey. While I initially thought the book would focus solely on them, it turned out to be a beautifully woven narrative about a family鈥擝ogyeong, a grieving mother, and her two daughters, Eunhye and Yeonjae. Their lives take a profound turn after the loss of the only man in their family, and the way their relationships shift and evolve is comforting.
馃Bogyeong鈥檚 backstory was especially moving, highlighting the deep grief she experiences, which is both difficult to read and heartbreaking. Meanwhile, Eunhye and Yeonjae鈥檚 growth was inspiring鈥攖hey navigate life with wisdom beyond their years. The presence of Coli even helps to mend some of their wounds, creating a bond between them that wasn鈥檛 there before.
馃 Another highlight for me was Yeonjae鈥檚 friendship with Jisu. Their connection felt real and relatable, and it was heartwarming to see Yeonjae slowly open her heart to someone.
馃 From the moment Coli appeared in the book, I adored this little robot. Its curiosity, kindness, and unwavering loyalty made it such an endearing character. That鈥檚 why the ending left me heartbroken. I had hoped for a different fate, and that鈥檚 the only reason I couldn't give the book more than four stars.
馃 That said, despite its slow, character-driven pace, I was captivated by every perspective. The translation was smooth, and the story left a lasting impression. While labeled as science fiction, it鈥檚 really a poignant reflection on life and connection鈥攐ne I highly recommend.
Here are quotes that I liked from the book:
鉂€ 鈥淕iving up when something is too hard is a valid option, too. Though it takes a lot of effort for a living being to voluntarily give something up."
鉂€ 鈥淵ou didn't have to be understood by everyone in the whole world. You just needed to be understood by the people you wanted to understand yourself.鈥�
鉂€ 鈥淗umans had no way of knowing what someone else was feeling without talking about it; everyone just assumed they knew what others felt.鈥�
鉂€ 鈥淗appiness cures all ills. It is the only thing that is more powerful than going back to the past.鈥�
鉂€ 鈥淕rowing up meant realizing that other people's lives were different from yours, and it meant accepting and adapting to that fact. Sometimes that process was brutal.鈥�
Thank you, Times Reads, for the review copy!
馃 I loved the concept behind this story. At first glance, it might seem like a classic sci-fi tale about a robot and a racehorse, but it turns out to be something much deeper鈥攁n exploration of life, human relationships, and the invisible struggles we often overlook. It also presents an intriguing perspective on our relationship with technology and the ways in which technology can impact our jobs.
馃 What I found most captivating was how the story unfolded beyond just Coli and Today鈥檚 journey. While I initially thought the book would focus solely on them, it turned out to be a beautifully woven narrative about a family鈥擝ogyeong, a grieving mother, and her two daughters, Eunhye and Yeonjae. Their lives take a profound turn after the loss of the only man in their family, and the way their relationships shift and evolve is comforting.
馃Bogyeong鈥檚 backstory was especially moving, highlighting the deep grief she experiences, which is both difficult to read and heartbreaking. Meanwhile, Eunhye and Yeonjae鈥檚 growth was inspiring鈥攖hey navigate life with wisdom beyond their years. The presence of Coli even helps to mend some of their wounds, creating a bond between them that wasn鈥檛 there before.
馃 Another highlight for me was Yeonjae鈥檚 friendship with Jisu. Their connection felt real and relatable, and it was heartwarming to see Yeonjae slowly open her heart to someone.
馃 From the moment Coli appeared in the book, I adored this little robot. Its curiosity, kindness, and unwavering loyalty made it such an endearing character. That鈥檚 why the ending left me heartbroken. I had hoped for a different fate, and that鈥檚 the only reason I couldn't give the book more than four stars.
馃 That said, despite its slow, character-driven pace, I was captivated by every perspective. The translation was smooth, and the story left a lasting impression. While labeled as science fiction, it鈥檚 really a poignant reflection on life and connection鈥攐ne I highly recommend.
Here are quotes that I liked from the book:
鉂€ 鈥淕iving up when something is too hard is a valid option, too. Though it takes a lot of effort for a living being to voluntarily give something up."
鉂€ 鈥淵ou didn't have to be understood by everyone in the whole world. You just needed to be understood by the people you wanted to understand yourself.鈥�
鉂€ 鈥淗umans had no way of knowing what someone else was feeling without talking about it; everyone just assumed they knew what others felt.鈥�
鉂€ 鈥淗appiness cures all ills. It is the only thing that is more powerful than going back to the past.鈥�
鉂€ 鈥淕rowing up meant realizing that other people's lives were different from yours, and it meant accepting and adapting to that fact. Sometimes that process was brutal.鈥�
Thank you, Times Reads, for the review copy!
December 26, 2024
Described as Klara and the Sun meets The Lonely Castle in the Mirror, A Thousand Blues definitely has similarities to both, though it didn't quite hit the same level of either book for me sadly.
The novel, set in 2035, follows a girl who rescues and fixes up a humanoid robot who's sole purpose was to be a jockey for a horse called Today. Today is on his last legs in the horse racing world, and is about to be sent to slaughter, but together the girl and her sister come up with a plan to give the horse one last race and buy Today a little more time. The only catch is, Today must run the slowest race of his life in order to do no further damage.
The strongest parts of this book centre around Coli (short for Broccoli) the robot. It was hard not to love this character.
What I didn't love was how twee it often felt, especially with the constant life teachings and morals that never felt seamlessly interwoven within the story. I grew really bored of this side of the novel and ultimately this is what made it not quite for me. It also has a very emotional weepy ending!!
The novel, set in 2035, follows a girl who rescues and fixes up a humanoid robot who's sole purpose was to be a jockey for a horse called Today. Today is on his last legs in the horse racing world, and is about to be sent to slaughter, but together the girl and her sister come up with a plan to give the horse one last race and buy Today a little more time. The only catch is, Today must run the slowest race of his life in order to do no further damage.
The strongest parts of this book centre around Coli (short for Broccoli) the robot. It was hard not to love this character.
What I didn't love was how twee it often felt, especially with the constant life teachings and morals that never felt seamlessly interwoven within the story. I grew really bored of this side of the novel and ultimately this is what made it not quite for me. It also has a very emotional weepy ending!!
July 25, 2023
Cheon Seon-Ran erz盲hlt in ihrer Utopie von Bogyeon, die ihre Arbeit als Schauspielerin verlor und ein Restaurant betreibt, ihren T枚chtern Yeonjae (Sch眉lerin mit Interesse an Robotik) und Eunhye, die nach einer Polioerkrankung im Rollstuhl sitzt, dem Rennpferd Today und dem humanoiden Jockey-Roboter C27, genannt Koli (brokkolifarben lackiert). In Nebenrollen u. a. der junge Reporter Woo Seoyin, der 眉ber Rennsport recherchiert.
Koli, eigentlich C27, ist auf einer koreanischen Rennbahn Jockey-Roboter des Spitzenpferds Today. Weil ein Chip auf den Boden fiel und irrt眉mlich in den Beh盲lter f眉r die Roboterproduktion geworfen wurde, erhielt Koli umfangreiches Selbstlern-Material zum Thema Sprache. Das doppelte menschliche Versagen h盲tte durch den Einsatz von Maschinen verhindert werden k枚nnen. Die Geschichte spielt in der nahen Zukunft nach 2035, in der Roboter mit begrenzter Intelligenz f眉r einfache Arbeiten eingesetzt werden. Koli, der in menschlicher Gestalt konstruiert wurde, hat aus seinem irregeleiteten Chip erstaunlichen Nutzen gezogen. Er verf眉gt 眉ber einen Wortschatz von 1000 W枚rtern, denkt 眉ber die Blaut枚ne des Himmels nach, 眉ber Motive menschlichen Handelns 鈥� und kann Todays K枚rpersprache ersp眉ren. Dass Koli Puls, Atmung und Muskelspannung des Pferds wahrnimmt und mit ihm kommuniziert, macht Rennpferd und Roboter zu einem unschlagbaren Team. Als Today wegen abgenutzter Gelenke nicht mehr laufen kann, will Koli ihn mit seinen beschr盲nkten Mitteln retten. Er l盲sst sich mitten im Rennen vom Pferder眉cken gleiten und wird von den Hufen der Verfolger zerst枚rt. An diesem Punkt kreuzt sein Weg den der Sch眉lerin Woo Yeonjae, die in der N盲he der Rennbahn wohnt. An Robotik interessiert, kauft sie Kolis Trainer Minju (verbotenerweise) den Roboterschrott ab und beginnt, f眉r ihn intelligente Beinprothesen zu konstruieren. Yeonjae ist auf der Suche nach einem alltagstauglichen Projekt f眉r einen Wettbewerb; dass ihre Schwester Rollstuhlfahrerin ist, spielt sicher auch eine Rolle. W盲hrend sie auf Materialsuche ist, sinnt der zerst枚rte Koli dar眉ber nach, wie Today vor dem Abdecker gerettet werden kann.
Bogyeon und ihre T枚chter sind Au脽enseiterinnen in einer nicht so fernen Gesellschaft, denen der technische Fortschritt bisher nur Nachteile brachte. Seit Bogyeons Mann t枚dlich verungl眉ckte und sie den ganzen Tag im Restaurant schuftet, lastet ein gro脽er Teil der Hausarbeit auf Yeonjae. Die Sch眉lerin f眉hlt sich nur mit ihrem Nutzen wahrgenommen, nicht als Person. Mit Dingen kommt Yeonjae besser klar als mit Menschen. Weil Robotik f眉r ein M盲dchen aus einfachen Verh盲ltnissen als sonderbares Interesse gewertet wird, sieht sie sich allgemein gemobbt. Ihren Job im 24-Stunden-Laden hat sie gerade verloren, weil ihr Chef lieber den Dienstleistungs-Roboter Betty angeschafft hat als ihr Mindestlohn zu zahlen. Auch Eunhuye f眉hlt sich vom technischen Fortschritt 眉bergangen; denn als Rollstuhlfahrerin ist sie vom 枚ffentlichen Raum ausgeschlossen. Der Rennsport mit seiner Wettkultur k枚nnte hier das allt盲gliche Hamsterrad in der nicht so fernen Zukunft symbolisieren, die keinen Raum mehr f眉r Freundschaft und Solidarit盲t l盲sst. In Yeonjaes Welt haben bisher M盲nner Nanobots entwickelt - und Frauen kochten. Schon Yonjaes Mutter war einst in einer Pr眉fung gescheitert, weil sie von der Frage 眉berfordert war, was Technik den Menschen bringen k枚nnte. Damit Yeonjae ihre Begabung f眉r diese Gesellschaft einsetzen kann, muss die sie zun盲chst als gleichberechtigtes Mitglied akzeptieren.
Die Geschichte des irrt眉mlich mitf眉hlenden Roboters und 鈥瀞einer鈥� Helfer wird zirkul盲r erz盲hlt, teils von Koli als Icherz盲hler; sie beginnt und endet mit Kolis geplantem Sturz vom Pferd. Dass in Cheons utopischem Szenario Robotern menschliche Silhouetten angepasst werden, konnte mich zwar wenig begeistern. Davon abgesehen wirkt Cheons Utopie originell und empathisch. Die Frage, wozu Technik n眉tzt, verkn眉pft Cheon Seon-Ran mit dem Schicksal jener, denen technischer Fortschritt bisher nur Nachteile gebracht hat.
Koli, eigentlich C27, ist auf einer koreanischen Rennbahn Jockey-Roboter des Spitzenpferds Today. Weil ein Chip auf den Boden fiel und irrt眉mlich in den Beh盲lter f眉r die Roboterproduktion geworfen wurde, erhielt Koli umfangreiches Selbstlern-Material zum Thema Sprache. Das doppelte menschliche Versagen h盲tte durch den Einsatz von Maschinen verhindert werden k枚nnen. Die Geschichte spielt in der nahen Zukunft nach 2035, in der Roboter mit begrenzter Intelligenz f眉r einfache Arbeiten eingesetzt werden. Koli, der in menschlicher Gestalt konstruiert wurde, hat aus seinem irregeleiteten Chip erstaunlichen Nutzen gezogen. Er verf眉gt 眉ber einen Wortschatz von 1000 W枚rtern, denkt 眉ber die Blaut枚ne des Himmels nach, 眉ber Motive menschlichen Handelns 鈥� und kann Todays K枚rpersprache ersp眉ren. Dass Koli Puls, Atmung und Muskelspannung des Pferds wahrnimmt und mit ihm kommuniziert, macht Rennpferd und Roboter zu einem unschlagbaren Team. Als Today wegen abgenutzter Gelenke nicht mehr laufen kann, will Koli ihn mit seinen beschr盲nkten Mitteln retten. Er l盲sst sich mitten im Rennen vom Pferder眉cken gleiten und wird von den Hufen der Verfolger zerst枚rt. An diesem Punkt kreuzt sein Weg den der Sch眉lerin Woo Yeonjae, die in der N盲he der Rennbahn wohnt. An Robotik interessiert, kauft sie Kolis Trainer Minju (verbotenerweise) den Roboterschrott ab und beginnt, f眉r ihn intelligente Beinprothesen zu konstruieren. Yeonjae ist auf der Suche nach einem alltagstauglichen Projekt f眉r einen Wettbewerb; dass ihre Schwester Rollstuhlfahrerin ist, spielt sicher auch eine Rolle. W盲hrend sie auf Materialsuche ist, sinnt der zerst枚rte Koli dar眉ber nach, wie Today vor dem Abdecker gerettet werden kann.
Bogyeon und ihre T枚chter sind Au脽enseiterinnen in einer nicht so fernen Gesellschaft, denen der technische Fortschritt bisher nur Nachteile brachte. Seit Bogyeons Mann t枚dlich verungl眉ckte und sie den ganzen Tag im Restaurant schuftet, lastet ein gro脽er Teil der Hausarbeit auf Yeonjae. Die Sch眉lerin f眉hlt sich nur mit ihrem Nutzen wahrgenommen, nicht als Person. Mit Dingen kommt Yeonjae besser klar als mit Menschen. Weil Robotik f眉r ein M盲dchen aus einfachen Verh盲ltnissen als sonderbares Interesse gewertet wird, sieht sie sich allgemein gemobbt. Ihren Job im 24-Stunden-Laden hat sie gerade verloren, weil ihr Chef lieber den Dienstleistungs-Roboter Betty angeschafft hat als ihr Mindestlohn zu zahlen. Auch Eunhuye f眉hlt sich vom technischen Fortschritt 眉bergangen; denn als Rollstuhlfahrerin ist sie vom 枚ffentlichen Raum ausgeschlossen. Der Rennsport mit seiner Wettkultur k枚nnte hier das allt盲gliche Hamsterrad in der nicht so fernen Zukunft symbolisieren, die keinen Raum mehr f眉r Freundschaft und Solidarit盲t l盲sst. In Yeonjaes Welt haben bisher M盲nner Nanobots entwickelt - und Frauen kochten. Schon Yonjaes Mutter war einst in einer Pr眉fung gescheitert, weil sie von der Frage 眉berfordert war, was Technik den Menschen bringen k枚nnte. Damit Yeonjae ihre Begabung f眉r diese Gesellschaft einsetzen kann, muss die sie zun盲chst als gleichberechtigtes Mitglied akzeptieren.
Die Geschichte des irrt眉mlich mitf眉hlenden Roboters und 鈥瀞einer鈥� Helfer wird zirkul盲r erz盲hlt, teils von Koli als Icherz盲hler; sie beginnt und endet mit Kolis geplantem Sturz vom Pferd. Dass in Cheons utopischem Szenario Robotern menschliche Silhouetten angepasst werden, konnte mich zwar wenig begeistern. Davon abgesehen wirkt Cheons Utopie originell und empathisch. Die Frage, wozu Technik n眉tzt, verkn眉pft Cheon Seon-Ran mit dem Schicksal jener, denen technischer Fortschritt bisher nur Nachteile gebracht hat.
March 28, 2025
ARC review
In 2035, a purpose-built jockey robot (with a little extra than expected) falls from its horse and is destined to be scrapped and repurposed. Until a young woman decides to salvage it. A Thousand Blues is a heartfelt exploration of the highs and lows of humanity, and how we prioritise technological advancements that make the rich richer, rather than improving quality of life for all. One of the key characters is physically disabled and this book discusses in depth society鈥檚 failures to accommodate and support disabled people, which was incredibly moving and well- handled.
I need to say straight off the bat I picked up this book for the sentient robot, and immediately I was hating monk & robot duo vibes and I was chomping at the bit. Unfortunately the actual robot is scarcely present in this book, and the focus of this story is actually the girl and her family. Now, this isn鈥檛 a BAD story! I really liked the characters and the way the author explores how shared trauma effects close relationships, and it definitely had dystopian vibes regarding how technological advances have effected different classes. It鈥檚 just not the story I was wanting/expecting. I think if THAT sounds like something you鈥檙e interested in, I鈥檇 definitely recommend this book. If you are after a quirky robot with heart, I think you鈥檒l be hung out to dry a little bit. Despite being pretty short it took me a couple days to finish just because I wasn鈥檛 very immersed (I think because I was waiting for more robot scenes 馃拃)
The most important thing is the themes and messages of A Thousand Blues are incredibly important and well-delivered. There鈥檚 a lot of commentary about the racing industry and the treatment of animals in general, and this is a really interesting way to weave that in to fiction. I also really love that a book with such heavy and almost threatening themes ends with an abundance of hope and love. I would really love to read more from this author.
In 2035, a purpose-built jockey robot (with a little extra than expected) falls from its horse and is destined to be scrapped and repurposed. Until a young woman decides to salvage it. A Thousand Blues is a heartfelt exploration of the highs and lows of humanity, and how we prioritise technological advancements that make the rich richer, rather than improving quality of life for all. One of the key characters is physically disabled and this book discusses in depth society鈥檚 failures to accommodate and support disabled people, which was incredibly moving and well- handled.
I need to say straight off the bat I picked up this book for the sentient robot, and immediately I was hating monk & robot duo vibes and I was chomping at the bit. Unfortunately the actual robot is scarcely present in this book, and the focus of this story is actually the girl and her family. Now, this isn鈥檛 a BAD story! I really liked the characters and the way the author explores how shared trauma effects close relationships, and it definitely had dystopian vibes regarding how technological advances have effected different classes. It鈥檚 just not the story I was wanting/expecting. I think if THAT sounds like something you鈥檙e interested in, I鈥檇 definitely recommend this book. If you are after a quirky robot with heart, I think you鈥檒l be hung out to dry a little bit. Despite being pretty short it took me a couple days to finish just because I wasn鈥檛 very immersed (I think because I was waiting for more robot scenes 馃拃)
The most important thing is the themes and messages of A Thousand Blues are incredibly important and well-delivered. There鈥檚 a lot of commentary about the racing industry and the treatment of animals in general, and this is a really interesting way to weave that in to fiction. I also really love that a book with such heavy and almost threatening themes ends with an abundance of hope and love. I would really love to read more from this author.
February 14, 2025
A Thousand Blues is a beautiful and emotive sci-fi story that follows a cast of characters over the course of 6 months. Likened to Kazuo Ishiguro's 'Klara and the Sun' (my favourite book of 2021!), the setting is a near future in which robots are starting to become widespread. With human jobs being replaced by robots in attempts to save money, this book asks: what does it mean to be alive?
I was interested in the main setting, which was a horse racing track using robot jockeys. I could tell that Cheon Seon-ran thought a lot about even the smallest changes that robots could have in our lives. There were so many tearjerking moments throughout as our characters tried to navigate this new age of technology. I was especially moved by the older sister, Eunhye, as she struggled to travel around as a wheelchair user in a world obsessed with new products and inventions.
The prose was also gorgeous. The translator Chi-Young Kim did a fantastic job of maintaining a balance between vivid descriptions and simplicity. This meant that the story was easy to digest, and the main themes were introduced well. In such a small book, so many themes were touched on, from disability to animal rights.
This was a lovely story about finding your own place within the world, and I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a thought-provoking read. The sci-fi elements were reasonably light, so I am sure that this book will appeal to a wide audience. Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Doubleday for providing this e-ARC for an honest review.
I was interested in the main setting, which was a horse racing track using robot jockeys. I could tell that Cheon Seon-ran thought a lot about even the smallest changes that robots could have in our lives. There were so many tearjerking moments throughout as our characters tried to navigate this new age of technology. I was especially moved by the older sister, Eunhye, as she struggled to travel around as a wheelchair user in a world obsessed with new products and inventions.
The prose was also gorgeous. The translator Chi-Young Kim did a fantastic job of maintaining a balance between vivid descriptions and simplicity. This meant that the story was easy to digest, and the main themes were introduced well. In such a small book, so many themes were touched on, from disability to animal rights.
This was a lovely story about finding your own place within the world, and I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a thought-provoking read. The sci-fi elements were reasonably light, so I am sure that this book will appeal to a wide audience. Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Doubleday for providing this e-ARC for an honest review.
November 24, 2024
2.5 stars
Ah! I really wanted to love this one. However, I found the writing very clunky and the time jumps confusing. I couldn鈥檛 get invested in the characters despite the sisters having an interesting story. It was an original idea and while I enjoyed some moments, overall it was a drag to read and felt devoid of real emotion and depth.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #AThousandBlues #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Ah! I really wanted to love this one. However, I found the writing very clunky and the time jumps confusing. I couldn鈥檛 get invested in the characters despite the sisters having an interesting story. It was an original idea and while I enjoyed some moments, overall it was a drag to read and felt devoid of real emotion and depth.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #AThousandBlues #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
May 13, 2025
Watch my video review here:
*A Thousand Blues* is that rare social science fiction novel whose every element is pitch perfect. This three-hundred page work by the South Korean author Cheon Seon-ran has lodged itself deep into my heart. It came at a time when I was questioning the capacity each and every one of us has to connect and communicate with one another. *A Thousand Blues* was a stark reminder that no connection is unsalvageable and that joy is ever an antidote to pain.
*A Thousand Blues* is set up in the near-future year of 2035. Its science-fictional conceit shows an ever-increasing degree of robotization across every aspect of South Korean society (and beyond). The author has thought through the social and economic implications for the use of robots across various sectors. Her chief concern is the use of robots as horse jockeys; the text reasonably points out that one of the reasons horses don鈥檛 go as fast as they physically can during races is because their human jockeys, weighing certain amounts and not wanting to die, cannot drive the horses past a certain point; with jockeys, shorter, made of light material for the express purpose, horse races are reinvigorated, the animals driven to speeds unthinkable until robotization came knocking.
Coli
One of the point-of-view characters here is robot Coli, a jockey who, through an unlikely but quotidian incident, has within himself an experimental chip that allows him to grow and learn about the world 鈥� true artificial intelligence, in a nutshell. To experience the world through his eyes is to see it afresh. His childlike curiosity is endearing, his optimism and joy welcome. His story is inextricably woven first with the race horse Today, a filly who, under his guidance, breaks national records on the race tracks. Because of the brutally exploitative treatment of race horses by the industry, as soon as Today can no longer run, the clock begins ticking, with her time running out.
Later, after Coli takes a drop that shatters the lower part of his body, he meets a girl 鈥� a brilliant but lost teenager by the name of Yeonjae. Through her efforts to repair him, the robot meets the girl鈥檚 family, her mother and sister; what follows is a kind of magic, with Coli helping these disparate individuals, each of whom live at a distance from one another (and, really, from all other human beings) to find their way back together. It is not just Coli who does this, however: it is also their common effort to counteract the cruel exploitative nature of race track policy that would see Today euthanised. No longer capable of running at the speeds they used to because of overextension that leads to frailty, worn out joints, and various other conditions, these animals are deemed a drain on their owners鈥� resources and summarily put down. The only criticism I can think of for all the book is, why wouldn鈥檛 the owners of the racing tracks get into horse-breeding? I know that aged stallions past their prime are often used for such purposes, though I do not know how things stand with fillies. This is a minor point, perhaps the one thing that stood out to me as not being addressed in the text. It might be less the text鈥檚 fault than my own ignorance on the relationship between horse-racing and horse-breeding.
Humanity鈥檚 Social Contract with Animals
The novel makes a persuasive case about the need for humanity to do better towards animals. Humanity鈥檚 social contract with nonhumans is unjust in so many ways, and Today鈥檚 story is only one example of the adage that animals 鈥渄ied if [they] weren鈥檛 needed by a human鈥� (189). Bokhui, the veterinarian who serves as one point-of-view character, speaks most strongly to this, bringing up one compelling point after another. I suspect her opinions reflect the author鈥檚 own, considering what the latter鈥檚 bio says, namely that 鈥渟he often dreams of a world where humans become a minority in a world of flora and fauna鈥�. That said, the link between character and author, if you see it, didn鈥檛 at any point draw away from the novel.
A Story about Family
Yeonjay
How about the family at the centre of the novel? Yeonjay is the robotics whiz, an outwardly indifferent teenager who, because of the life she鈥檚 had to lead, accepts things with a stoicism that bellies the depth of her feelings. She is a victim of robotization, having found herself out of a store clerk job. One day, the owner of the place decided to spare some money via the purchase of a Betsy 鈥� a store clerk robot. Yeonjay is someone incredibly comfortable to follow. Her interactions with the owner endeared her to me; the friendship she develops with fellow student Jisu was beyond satisfying. It was one of those adolescent friendships that really extend a person鈥檚 horizons. It so well recalled one of my own foundational high-school friendships that I wanted to read more of these two characters together. Yeonjay discovers Coli after the latter has been shattered via a fall from Today鈥檚 back, and it is she who masterfully rebuilds him.
Eunhye
Yeonjay plays the role of helper to her sister Eunhye, who is bound to a wheelchair due to getting polio at the age of five. Eunhye is the older of the two. Her point of view says a lot about society鈥檚 in-built ableism 鈥� as you might expect, just about none of it good. As with the animals, here too the text is persuasive about the need to do more, to do a better job for those who are disabled in some way. It鈥檚 Eunhye who is, alongside Coli, Today鈥檚 fiercest champion. Like Yeonjay, she too has many walls that separate her from her family; while those are not taken down entirely, a path opens to a world where they may eventually fall.
Bogyeong
Last but certainly not least in the family is Bogyeong. Mother to the two girls, and widow to a firefighter husband who once saved her from a terrible accident. Her life before the family, before the kids, is a journey all its own, and told so masterfully; the family life, heavy with loss and the necessities of survival, is full of things unsaid, of small regrets and racked-up debts.
and
Yet, there is a way back for each member of the family to the others. With enough care, wounds are healed; with enough care, even scars disappear.
Poignancy and Humour
The novel is rich in moments of understated humour, at once poignant and an absolute laugh. My favourite has to be the following, taken from a conversation between Eunhye and Bokhui as the former tells the latter about her cousin:
On the Translation
I sadly cannot offer commentary on the faithfulness of the translation to the author鈥檚 original; however, Chi-Young Kim鈥檚 translation makes of this novel a joy to read in English, and I believe that they have done an admirable job bringing this special text to the English-speaking world.
Concluding Thoughts
*A Thousand Blues* is an early favourite of mine for the best release of 2025. I can鈥檛 recommend it enough 鈥� it has got heart like few novels I鈥檝e read in recent memory.
*A Thousand Blues* is that rare social science fiction novel whose every element is pitch perfect. This three-hundred page work by the South Korean author Cheon Seon-ran has lodged itself deep into my heart. It came at a time when I was questioning the capacity each and every one of us has to connect and communicate with one another. *A Thousand Blues* was a stark reminder that no connection is unsalvageable and that joy is ever an antidote to pain.
*A Thousand Blues* is set up in the near-future year of 2035. Its science-fictional conceit shows an ever-increasing degree of robotization across every aspect of South Korean society (and beyond). The author has thought through the social and economic implications for the use of robots across various sectors. Her chief concern is the use of robots as horse jockeys; the text reasonably points out that one of the reasons horses don鈥檛 go as fast as they physically can during races is because their human jockeys, weighing certain amounts and not wanting to die, cannot drive the horses past a certain point; with jockeys, shorter, made of light material for the express purpose, horse races are reinvigorated, the animals driven to speeds unthinkable until robotization came knocking.
Coli
One of the point-of-view characters here is robot Coli, a jockey who, through an unlikely but quotidian incident, has within himself an experimental chip that allows him to grow and learn about the world 鈥� true artificial intelligence, in a nutshell. To experience the world through his eyes is to see it afresh. His childlike curiosity is endearing, his optimism and joy welcome. His story is inextricably woven first with the race horse Today, a filly who, under his guidance, breaks national records on the race tracks. Because of the brutally exploitative treatment of race horses by the industry, as soon as Today can no longer run, the clock begins ticking, with her time running out.
Later, after Coli takes a drop that shatters the lower part of his body, he meets a girl 鈥� a brilliant but lost teenager by the name of Yeonjae. Through her efforts to repair him, the robot meets the girl鈥檚 family, her mother and sister; what follows is a kind of magic, with Coli helping these disparate individuals, each of whom live at a distance from one another (and, really, from all other human beings) to find their way back together. It is not just Coli who does this, however: it is also their common effort to counteract the cruel exploitative nature of race track policy that would see Today euthanised. No longer capable of running at the speeds they used to because of overextension that leads to frailty, worn out joints, and various other conditions, these animals are deemed a drain on their owners鈥� resources and summarily put down. The only criticism I can think of for all the book is, why wouldn鈥檛 the owners of the racing tracks get into horse-breeding? I know that aged stallions past their prime are often used for such purposes, though I do not know how things stand with fillies. This is a minor point, perhaps the one thing that stood out to me as not being addressed in the text. It might be less the text鈥檚 fault than my own ignorance on the relationship between horse-racing and horse-breeding.
Humanity鈥檚 Social Contract with Animals
The novel makes a persuasive case about the need for humanity to do better towards animals. Humanity鈥檚 social contract with nonhumans is unjust in so many ways, and Today鈥檚 story is only one example of the adage that animals 鈥渄ied if [they] weren鈥檛 needed by a human鈥� (189). Bokhui, the veterinarian who serves as one point-of-view character, speaks most strongly to this, bringing up one compelling point after another. I suspect her opinions reflect the author鈥檚 own, considering what the latter鈥檚 bio says, namely that 鈥渟he often dreams of a world where humans become a minority in a world of flora and fauna鈥�. That said, the link between character and author, if you see it, didn鈥檛 at any point draw away from the novel.
A Story about Family
Yeonjay
How about the family at the centre of the novel? Yeonjay is the robotics whiz, an outwardly indifferent teenager who, because of the life she鈥檚 had to lead, accepts things with a stoicism that bellies the depth of her feelings. She is a victim of robotization, having found herself out of a store clerk job. One day, the owner of the place decided to spare some money via the purchase of a Betsy 鈥� a store clerk robot. Yeonjay is someone incredibly comfortable to follow. Her interactions with the owner endeared her to me; the friendship she develops with fellow student Jisu was beyond satisfying. It was one of those adolescent friendships that really extend a person鈥檚 horizons. It so well recalled one of my own foundational high-school friendships that I wanted to read more of these two characters together. Yeonjay discovers Coli after the latter has been shattered via a fall from Today鈥檚 back, and it is she who masterfully rebuilds him.
Eunhye
Yeonjay plays the role of helper to her sister Eunhye, who is bound to a wheelchair due to getting polio at the age of five. Eunhye is the older of the two. Her point of view says a lot about society鈥檚 in-built ableism 鈥� as you might expect, just about none of it good. As with the animals, here too the text is persuasive about the need to do more, to do a better job for those who are disabled in some way. It鈥檚 Eunhye who is, alongside Coli, Today鈥檚 fiercest champion. Like Yeonjay, she too has many walls that separate her from her family; while those are not taken down entirely, a path opens to a world where they may eventually fall.
Bogyeong
Last but certainly not least in the family is Bogyeong. Mother to the two girls, and widow to a firefighter husband who once saved her from a terrible accident. Her life before the family, before the kids, is a journey all its own, and told so masterfully; the family life, heavy with loss and the necessities of survival, is full of things unsaid, of small regrets and racked-up debts.
They all had their feelings hurt, and before one wound could heal a new one would open up, pushing the older one further down. (154)
and
What she wished above all else was for her to have a better relationship with her daughters. Each of them was indebted to the other two, which made it all that more difficult to broach the subject. Eunhye was a bruised finger and Yeonjae was a finger with damaged nerves. Both of them had wounds so old that it was hard to remember exactly what had happened, until you glanced at them one day and realized they hadn鈥檛 healed correctly. Bogyeong couldn鈥檛 pick off their scabs and put ointment on them. She could only watch as the wounds hardened into scars. (238)
Yet, there is a way back for each member of the family to the others. With enough care, wounds are healed; with enough care, even scars disappear.
Poignancy and Humour
The novel is rich in moments of understated humour, at once poignant and an absolute laugh. My favourite has to be the following, taken from a conversation between Eunhye and Bokhui as the former tells the latter about her cousin:
鈥楬e loves animals, too. Which might be his weakness, actually. I still remember what he told me once. He said that a species goes extinct as often as an app gets an update. Isn鈥檛 that grim? That means every time I update an app, another species is going extinct.鈥�
鈥淭hat sounds about right, unfortunately.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I don鈥檛 update my apps very often. It just feels wrong.鈥�
On the Translation
I sadly cannot offer commentary on the faithfulness of the translation to the author鈥檚 original; however, Chi-Young Kim鈥檚 translation makes of this novel a joy to read in English, and I believe that they have done an admirable job bringing this special text to the English-speaking world.
Concluding Thoughts
*A Thousand Blues* is an early favourite of mine for the best release of 2025. I can鈥檛 recommend it enough 鈥� it has got heart like few novels I鈥檝e read in recent memory.
April 22, 2021
I am happy to see more Korean writers attempting at Sci-fi. Looking forward to seeing (reading) how new wave of Korean sci-fi evolves.
This book includes human-like 'robot' I enjoyed reading about the unique role of the robot (jocky) and how factory-made robot learns human-like emotion (by an accident). Even though the book claims its sci-fi, I find the main story is about human emotion; bond, friendship and family. The author talks through a robot, but the basic emotion is so much like Korean (not sure how to explain this; Korean sensitivity?)
The book brought up an interesting argument about how we perceive augmented body, and how such augmentation might become another factor for discrimination (human-beings may not function without drawing 'sides' us.vs.them?).
This book includes human-like 'robot' I enjoyed reading about the unique role of the robot (jocky) and how factory-made robot learns human-like emotion (by an accident). Even though the book claims its sci-fi, I find the main story is about human emotion; bond, friendship and family. The author talks through a robot, but the basic emotion is so much like Korean (not sure how to explain this; Korean sensitivity?)
The book brought up an interesting argument about how we perceive augmented body, and how such augmentation might become another factor for discrimination (human-beings may not function without drawing 'sides' us.vs.them?).
May 24, 2025
3.5/5
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鈥�
毵堨毵夓溂搿� 鞝曧暣歆� 雼奠澊 鞐嗠姅 歆堧霌れ棎 雽€頃� 鞏措ジ 韽靺橃棎靹� 欤茧姅 雼奠澊 雱堧 鞚茧皹搿犾爜 (雮橂弰 鞛� 氇ゴ歆€毵屸€� 鞚措爣歆€ 鞎婌潉旯�?) 鞚措澕靹� 鞎勳壗. 鞗€氩犽ゴ韸� 鞐愳綌鞚� 鞙岆Μ鞐� 靾橂弰鞀� 氤措┐靹滊姅 鈥滌晞 鞚� 靷瀸 歆勳 順勳澑鞚措嫟!鈥� 鞁鹅棃電旊嵃.
February 18, 2025
鈥淲e all need practice slowing down.鈥� A message that resonates now more than ever. Having deleted Instagram and TikTok last year, I have been trying to do exactly this.
Cheon Seon-ran takes this contemplative statement as a core and creates a beautiful crystal around it. A part sci-fi, a part family drama, set in the almost-foreseeable future of 2035, this novel does a lot with the 200 odd pages it covers.
For me, the best part was the effectiveness of the message that came across: follow your own path. Do not bow to the pressure of others. Be willing to take risks. The simplicity with which Coli communicated added a glimmer to the prose, which was skilfully translated.
For fans of Klara and the Sun and The Midnight Library.
Cheon Seon-ran takes this contemplative statement as a core and creates a beautiful crystal around it. A part sci-fi, a part family drama, set in the almost-foreseeable future of 2035, this novel does a lot with the 200 odd pages it covers.
For me, the best part was the effectiveness of the message that came across: follow your own path. Do not bow to the pressure of others. Be willing to take risks. The simplicity with which Coli communicated added a glimmer to the prose, which was skilfully translated.
For fans of Klara and the Sun and The Midnight Library.
March 2, 2025
The modest and uncomplicated style of writing is deceptive 鈥� it masks depths to be probed. I confess I wasn鈥檛 taken with the novel initially 鈥� rather a l-o-n-g way in before the driving force behind the story kicks in. But a robot capable of emotion 鈥� compassion and understanding 鈥� is both unnerving and reassuring as it nudges humans to consider the desires of a racehorse destined for the knacker鈥檚 yard. The exploration of a family wounded by death and disability, unable to communicate their needs, is at times heartrending. Cheon Seon-ran addresses disability with tremendous insight and tact, ditto the sense of isolation of other family members. Humanity and friendship weigh in to carry the family forward, supported by the robot.
Be patient when you read this 鈥� it is worth the effort.
Pub. 13th March, 2025
Be patient when you read this 鈥� it is worth the effort.
Pub. 13th March, 2025
May 17, 2025
This is what I wanted from Klara and the Sun. Beautiful and provocative and soothing.
Incidentally this is the second time I presumed I wouldn鈥檛 enjoy a book because it focused on horse racing and was very wrong (Kick The Latch being the first)
Incidentally this is the second time I presumed I wouldn鈥檛 enjoy a book because it focused on horse racing and was very wrong (Kick The Latch being the first)
May 24, 2025
This is a quiet but book that explores what it means to be human in a world that values speed and perfection. I鈥檝e loved the different points o views of the characters, to the point of getting emotionally attached to a humanoid robot character.
March 9, 2025
3.5猸愶笍
May 27, 2025
A great novel on the role of robots in society, human-technology and human-human relations, responsibility and friendship. Most of all, the book is a great reminder that while our society is reaching for the stars with AI and what not, people in wheelchairs still cannot seamlessly participate in daily life because this same AI-striving society disables people by stairs with no integrated ramp, elevators that keep breaking down, curbs and holes in the roads and what not. A refreshing sci-fi book, highly recommend overall and will definitely highlight this to my robotic engineering students.
April 28, 2025
鈥淲e all need practise slowing down鈥�
Loved this. Would love to see it turned into a film!
Loved this. Would love to see it turned into a film!
April 11, 2025
set in 2035, in a near-future korea that closely mirrors our own high-speed, hyper-efficient world, this tender and quietly radical novel follows two sisters 馃懎 鈥� yeonjae, a teen robotics enthusiast & eunhye, an animal lover who uses a wheelchair. between helping at their mother鈥檚 samgyetang restaurant, they spend time at the racetrack with a horse named today, where they also meet coli, a broken robot jockey abandoned and left for the scrap heap. 馃弴
when they discover that their favorite racehorse is about to be put down after years of loyal racing, they come up with a bold plan: coli will ride today in one final race鈥攏ot to win, but to run the slowest time in history. what begins as an act of rescue becomes a quiet rebellion against a society obsessed with speed and productivity. 馃弫
猸愶笍猸愶笍猸愶笍猸愶笍/5. I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT THIS BEAUTIFUL COVER WAS THE FIRST THING THAT DREW ME IN ??? like stAWHPPPP ITS SO GORGEOUS 馃槏馃槏馃槏 this turned out to be so more than just a story about a racehorse and a robot. its a reflective, emotionally resonant meditation on how we move through a world that constantly demands more of us鈥攆aster, better, always forward. it asks us to pause. to notice. to care.
i especially love how in the end, coli is not just a broken machine鈥攊ts a symbol of resilience, tenderness & the quiet power of simply being. its a soft, glowing reminder that rebellion doesn鈥檛 always look like a revolution; sometimes, it looks like choosing to love what others have already given up on.
also come on, the way yeonjae named the robot coli from the word "broccoli" just bc he's green is just sO CUTE ???? 馃槱 omg i cant. also green is my favourite colour so yes im a lil biased 馃お
have to be honest that i wasnt rlly a fan of chapters with shifting POVs. a couple of transitions left me a lil bit confused so i had to reread certain parts. anws !!! it still rlly made me feel the way only the best stories do鈥攍ike i'd been gently reminded of what truly matters.
its about love in unexpected forms, the quiet strength of those who care deeply & the radical act of choosing softness in a hard world.
i closed the final page feeling both full and a little broken in the best way. a story that lingers, truly. my first sci-fi book tht i rlly enjoyed, pls take my whole heart !!!!! 馃弴馃馃毝鈥嶁檧锔忊€嶁灐锔忦煈┾€嶐煢解€嶁灐锔忦煉�
when they discover that their favorite racehorse is about to be put down after years of loyal racing, they come up with a bold plan: coli will ride today in one final race鈥攏ot to win, but to run the slowest time in history. what begins as an act of rescue becomes a quiet rebellion against a society obsessed with speed and productivity. 馃弫
猸愶笍猸愶笍猸愶笍猸愶笍/5. I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT THIS BEAUTIFUL COVER WAS THE FIRST THING THAT DREW ME IN ??? like stAWHPPPP ITS SO GORGEOUS 馃槏馃槏馃槏 this turned out to be so more than just a story about a racehorse and a robot. its a reflective, emotionally resonant meditation on how we move through a world that constantly demands more of us鈥攆aster, better, always forward. it asks us to pause. to notice. to care.
i especially love how in the end, coli is not just a broken machine鈥攊ts a symbol of resilience, tenderness & the quiet power of simply being. its a soft, glowing reminder that rebellion doesn鈥檛 always look like a revolution; sometimes, it looks like choosing to love what others have already given up on.
also come on, the way yeonjae named the robot coli from the word "broccoli" just bc he's green is just sO CUTE ???? 馃槱 omg i cant. also green is my favourite colour so yes im a lil biased 馃お
have to be honest that i wasnt rlly a fan of chapters with shifting POVs. a couple of transitions left me a lil bit confused so i had to reread certain parts. anws !!! it still rlly made me feel the way only the best stories do鈥攍ike i'd been gently reminded of what truly matters.
its about love in unexpected forms, the quiet strength of those who care deeply & the radical act of choosing softness in a hard world.
i closed the final page feeling both full and a little broken in the best way. a story that lingers, truly. my first sci-fi book tht i rlly enjoyed, pls take my whole heart !!!!! 馃弴馃馃毝鈥嶁檧锔忊€嶁灐锔忦煈┾€嶐煢解€嶁灐锔忦煉�
May 9, 2025
(23/2025) 4/5馃専 Science/Dystopian (Fiction) |307 pages
鈥溾€︷潤ヰ潤栶潤烉潤� 饾櫈饾櫒 饾櫓饾櫇饾櫄 饾櫁饾櫄饾櫒饾櫓 饾櫃饾櫄饾櫅饾櫄饾櫍饾櫂饾櫄 饾櫌饾櫄饾櫂饾櫇饾櫀饾櫍饾櫈饾櫒饾櫌 饾櫓饾櫇饾櫄饾櫑饾櫄 饾櫈饾櫒, 饾櫎饾櫍饾櫄 饾櫆饾櫑饾櫀饾櫍饾櫓饾櫄饾櫃 饾櫎饾櫍饾櫋饾櫘 饾櫓饾櫎 饾櫎饾櫑饾櫆饾櫀饾櫍饾櫈饾櫂 饾櫁饾櫄饾櫈饾櫍饾櫆饾櫒. 饾檵饾櫀饾櫈饾櫍 饾櫌饾櫀饾櫊饾櫄饾櫒 饾櫇饾櫔饾櫌饾櫀饾櫍饾櫒 饾櫀饾櫋饾櫈饾櫕饾櫄; 饾櫏饾櫀饾櫈饾櫍 饾櫌饾櫀饾櫊饾櫄饾櫒 饾櫇饾櫔饾櫌饾櫀饾櫍饾櫒 饾櫆饾櫑饾櫎饾櫖.鈥�
What is human鈥檚 biggest enemy?
Some might disagree with me, but it鈥檚;
Time.
Time is human鈥檚 biggest enemy. We are always chasing for time. We always claim that we do not have enough time. However, we always want to be the fastest: the fastest to start a trend, the fastest to comment on someone鈥檚 post, the fastest to be in the line of a viral food, the fastest to own the latest technology- ironically, it is still not enough.
Technology is rapidly growing. At the rate we are speaking, we are competing against time in order to come out with the most advanced, technological item that could make our life easier that sometimes we forget to slow down. We forget to slow down, and we forget to appreciate the beautiful nature surrounding us, the people around us who love us, and we forget to love ourselves because we are too busy chasing time.
Like all the characters in this story.
The story was set in a dystopian world in the future somewhere around year 2035. There was this one family : a mother, Bogyeong, and her two daughters, Eunhye and Yeonjae. They lived in a house near a racecourse where sometimes they would listen to the spectators cheering for their favourite horses racing on the track. What was special about the racecourse was all the horses had humanoid jockeys. These robots were specifically designed to ride the horses as they were lighter so the horses could run even faster, therefore lessening the numbers of incidents or deaths that might had befallen unto human jockeys.
There was this special robot jockey, C-27, who was by mistakenly inserted a different chip, that held cognitive and learning capabilities, inside its body, which made C-27 different from the other humanoids. C-27 rode on a horse called Today. One day, out of the spur of its capability of thinking, C-27 decided that it was going to fall off Today while in the race. Once a robot jockey was broken, and probably became malfunctioned, they were going to be demolished and replaced. There was a reason why C-27 decided to fall off the horse, Today, but we are going to leave it there first.
Eunhye, one of the sisters, was a regular visitor to the race horses鈥� stables and from there was when she had particular affection for Today. Eunhye was a wheelchair-bound girl, someone who got lost to the rapid technological development and circumstances despite the changes and advancement around her. So, one day, after Yeonjae, who lost her part-time job to a humanoid, went in search of her sister at the stable, also found C-27 placed aimlessly in one corner, she decided to use all her savings to repair C-27 and decided to call it, Coli. Yeonjae actually enjoyed robotics and technology, but something within her had held her from being too immersed in it.
Coli鈥檚 presence in the little family鈥檚 life seemed to be giving hope to each of them. Bogyeong, Eunhye and Yeonjae, though living under the same roof, all but kept to themselves as they thought it was the way to protect each other. Each of them carried their own burden selflessly but secrets remained secrets, words unexpressed, feelings unreciprocated- they carried within them painful memories. Coli, unknowingly, became their unofficial mediator and therapist. That was how when they knew deeply their affection for each other.
It wasn鈥檛 until the little family learnt of how Today and Coli were a particularly unique unit. That Coli and Today, when they were on the track, they became one. Not until they learned that Today was going to be euthanised as it could no longer performed her best. The sisters decided that they were going to save Today and gave her the one of a lifetime chance of a last race. They decided they were going to let Today ran her slowest race ever.
Would they succeed in their mission?
I had to admit, midway through my reading, I thought I had a different view of what I had read. Some of us might see it as political, animal cruelty, technological advancement, traditional versus modern ways of living, which were true, but not until I read the author鈥檚 note in the middle of my understanding, and glad to know that I thought the same as the author, hence my introduction.
We are so busy chasing everything that we forget to slow down and appreciate things around us. We were too busy adapting to life that is rapidly growing we are trying to keep up, we forget that there are times we need to slow down and take a break. It鈥檚 true that early bird catches the worms, but sometimes the worms aren鈥檛 even supposed to be ours.
The story also reminds me the importance of communication with our loved ones, to be specific. Talk. Talk to our parents, siblings, spouses, and express our feelings. We think that sometimes keeping things to ourselves is far more convenient, but we do not realise that by doing that we could cause the relationship to become even more tenuous, and in the end we hurt each other even more.
Another reminder (for me) is that everything that involves money is political now. I don鈥檛 have to go far because numerous examples are right in front of my eyes particularly in my own home ground. I have so many things to say about it but, yeah. In the story, we could see the bureaucracy that Eunhye had to face concerning her disability, how animals had to endure a deathly life process in exchange of human鈥檚 greed, and who could humans turn to when everything is taken over by machine? We only have ourselves.
C-27 or Coli really reminds me of Baymax from Big Hero 6 and Andrew Martin from The Bicentennial Man. Their demeanour, earnestness, gullibility and honesty - I sometimes think, 鈥滒潣潣仇潣� 饾槼饾槹饾槪饾槹饾樀饾槾 饾槮饾樂饾槮饾槸 饾槪饾槮饾樀饾樀饾槮饾槼 饾樀饾槱饾槩饾槸 饾樁饾槾 饾槱饾樁饾槷饾槩饾槸饾槾 饾樃饾槱饾槹 饾槾饾樁饾槺饾槺饾槹饾槾饾槮饾槬 饾樀饾槹 饾槱饾槩饾樂饾槮 饾槯饾槮饾槮饾槶饾槳饾槸饾槰饾槾?鈥�
This is not as much as sci-fi as we might expect it to be. I think it is a very character-driven story given the POVs that we would read from each important character. It is indeed a reminder that not everything is about being advanced in anything. Read this if you are still wondering should you slow down for life. Thank you #timesreads for this review copy in exchange with my honest personal review.
#justreaddontbawang #bookmehnia #MayReads #MayTBRs #2025reads #bookstagrammalaysia #bookstagrammy #malaysiamembaca #bookstagrammer #bookgram #bibliophile #bibliophilemy #bookish #bookaddict #bookaesthetic #readersofinstagram #goodreads #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookworm #itsgonnabemay #athousandblues #cheonseonran
鈥溾€︷潤ヰ潤栶潤烉潤� 饾櫈饾櫒 饾櫓饾櫇饾櫄 饾櫁饾櫄饾櫒饾櫓 饾櫃饾櫄饾櫅饾櫄饾櫍饾櫂饾櫄 饾櫌饾櫄饾櫂饾櫇饾櫀饾櫍饾櫈饾櫒饾櫌 饾櫓饾櫇饾櫄饾櫑饾櫄 饾櫈饾櫒, 饾櫎饾櫍饾櫄 饾櫆饾櫑饾櫀饾櫍饾櫓饾櫄饾櫃 饾櫎饾櫍饾櫋饾櫘 饾櫓饾櫎 饾櫎饾櫑饾櫆饾櫀饾櫍饾櫈饾櫂 饾櫁饾櫄饾櫈饾櫍饾櫆饾櫒. 饾檵饾櫀饾櫈饾櫍 饾櫌饾櫀饾櫊饾櫄饾櫒 饾櫇饾櫔饾櫌饾櫀饾櫍饾櫒 饾櫀饾櫋饾櫈饾櫕饾櫄; 饾櫏饾櫀饾櫈饾櫍 饾櫌饾櫀饾櫊饾櫄饾櫒 饾櫇饾櫔饾櫌饾櫀饾櫍饾櫒 饾櫆饾櫑饾櫎饾櫖.鈥�
What is human鈥檚 biggest enemy?
Some might disagree with me, but it鈥檚;
Time.
Time is human鈥檚 biggest enemy. We are always chasing for time. We always claim that we do not have enough time. However, we always want to be the fastest: the fastest to start a trend, the fastest to comment on someone鈥檚 post, the fastest to be in the line of a viral food, the fastest to own the latest technology- ironically, it is still not enough.
Technology is rapidly growing. At the rate we are speaking, we are competing against time in order to come out with the most advanced, technological item that could make our life easier that sometimes we forget to slow down. We forget to slow down, and we forget to appreciate the beautiful nature surrounding us, the people around us who love us, and we forget to love ourselves because we are too busy chasing time.
Like all the characters in this story.
The story was set in a dystopian world in the future somewhere around year 2035. There was this one family : a mother, Bogyeong, and her two daughters, Eunhye and Yeonjae. They lived in a house near a racecourse where sometimes they would listen to the spectators cheering for their favourite horses racing on the track. What was special about the racecourse was all the horses had humanoid jockeys. These robots were specifically designed to ride the horses as they were lighter so the horses could run even faster, therefore lessening the numbers of incidents or deaths that might had befallen unto human jockeys.
There was this special robot jockey, C-27, who was by mistakenly inserted a different chip, that held cognitive and learning capabilities, inside its body, which made C-27 different from the other humanoids. C-27 rode on a horse called Today. One day, out of the spur of its capability of thinking, C-27 decided that it was going to fall off Today while in the race. Once a robot jockey was broken, and probably became malfunctioned, they were going to be demolished and replaced. There was a reason why C-27 decided to fall off the horse, Today, but we are going to leave it there first.
Eunhye, one of the sisters, was a regular visitor to the race horses鈥� stables and from there was when she had particular affection for Today. Eunhye was a wheelchair-bound girl, someone who got lost to the rapid technological development and circumstances despite the changes and advancement around her. So, one day, after Yeonjae, who lost her part-time job to a humanoid, went in search of her sister at the stable, also found C-27 placed aimlessly in one corner, she decided to use all her savings to repair C-27 and decided to call it, Coli. Yeonjae actually enjoyed robotics and technology, but something within her had held her from being too immersed in it.
Coli鈥檚 presence in the little family鈥檚 life seemed to be giving hope to each of them. Bogyeong, Eunhye and Yeonjae, though living under the same roof, all but kept to themselves as they thought it was the way to protect each other. Each of them carried their own burden selflessly but secrets remained secrets, words unexpressed, feelings unreciprocated- they carried within them painful memories. Coli, unknowingly, became their unofficial mediator and therapist. That was how when they knew deeply their affection for each other.
It wasn鈥檛 until the little family learnt of how Today and Coli were a particularly unique unit. That Coli and Today, when they were on the track, they became one. Not until they learned that Today was going to be euthanised as it could no longer performed her best. The sisters decided that they were going to save Today and gave her the one of a lifetime chance of a last race. They decided they were going to let Today ran her slowest race ever.
Would they succeed in their mission?
I had to admit, midway through my reading, I thought I had a different view of what I had read. Some of us might see it as political, animal cruelty, technological advancement, traditional versus modern ways of living, which were true, but not until I read the author鈥檚 note in the middle of my understanding, and glad to know that I thought the same as the author, hence my introduction.
We are so busy chasing everything that we forget to slow down and appreciate things around us. We were too busy adapting to life that is rapidly growing we are trying to keep up, we forget that there are times we need to slow down and take a break. It鈥檚 true that early bird catches the worms, but sometimes the worms aren鈥檛 even supposed to be ours.
The story also reminds me the importance of communication with our loved ones, to be specific. Talk. Talk to our parents, siblings, spouses, and express our feelings. We think that sometimes keeping things to ourselves is far more convenient, but we do not realise that by doing that we could cause the relationship to become even more tenuous, and in the end we hurt each other even more.
Another reminder (for me) is that everything that involves money is political now. I don鈥檛 have to go far because numerous examples are right in front of my eyes particularly in my own home ground. I have so many things to say about it but, yeah. In the story, we could see the bureaucracy that Eunhye had to face concerning her disability, how animals had to endure a deathly life process in exchange of human鈥檚 greed, and who could humans turn to when everything is taken over by machine? We only have ourselves.
C-27 or Coli really reminds me of Baymax from Big Hero 6 and Andrew Martin from The Bicentennial Man. Their demeanour, earnestness, gullibility and honesty - I sometimes think, 鈥滒潣潣仇潣� 饾槼饾槹饾槪饾槹饾樀饾槾 饾槮饾樂饾槮饾槸 饾槪饾槮饾樀饾樀饾槮饾槼 饾樀饾槱饾槩饾槸 饾樁饾槾 饾槱饾樁饾槷饾槩饾槸饾槾 饾樃饾槱饾槹 饾槾饾樁饾槺饾槺饾槹饾槾饾槮饾槬 饾樀饾槹 饾槱饾槩饾樂饾槮 饾槯饾槮饾槮饾槶饾槳饾槸饾槰饾槾?鈥�
This is not as much as sci-fi as we might expect it to be. I think it is a very character-driven story given the POVs that we would read from each important character. It is indeed a reminder that not everything is about being advanced in anything. Read this if you are still wondering should you slow down for life. Thank you #timesreads for this review copy in exchange with my honest personal review.
#justreaddontbawang #bookmehnia #MayReads #MayTBRs #2025reads #bookstagrammalaysia #bookstagrammy #malaysiamembaca #bookstagrammer #bookgram #bibliophile #bibliophilemy #bookish #bookaddict #bookaesthetic #readersofinstagram #goodreads #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookworm #itsgonnabemay #athousandblues #cheonseonran
March 6, 2025
馃摉 Genre: Science Fiction / Literary Fiction / Dystopian鈥�
馃枊 Author: Cheon Seon-ran鈥�
猸愶笍 Rating: 鈽呪槄鈽呪槄鈽� (4/5)鈥�
馃寠 Themes: Slowing down, environmentalism, friendship, resistance against toxic productivity
The year is 2035, and the world is racing forward at breakneck speed鈥�.but at what cost?
In a society obsessed with efficiency, where everything has a purpose until it doesn鈥檛, we meet Coli, a discarded robot who, against all logic, still finds beauty in the sky. When he鈥檚 found by a young woman with a heart too big for this world, their paths intertwine in an unexpected way: through a broken-down racehorse named Today.
The mission? To let Today run one last race.鈥═he twist? This time, the goal isn鈥檛 to win鈥ut to run the slowest race in history.
But in a world where slowness is rebellion, what seems like a simple act of kindness becomes something far bigger.
Coli is a robot who was designed to serve but has been thrown away, a relic of an outdated model. He should be nothing more than scrap metal, but he still dreams, still wonders, still cares.
When a kind-hearted woman discovers him and takes him in, she introduces him to Today, a once-prized racehorse who has been used and discarded just like him. After a lifetime of being forced to run, to win, to be the best, Today is now considered worthless, facing an inevitable fate at the knackers鈥� yard.
Determined to give Today a final moment of happiness, they hatch a plan:
One Last Race. But Instead of Speed, They Will Teach Her to Go Slow.
This seemingly small act is actually a protest, a rejection of the fast-paced, unforgiving world that discards anything that can鈥檛 keep up.
But as Coli watches Today struggle between instinct and expectation, he realises something heartbreaking:
Can she even remember how to slow down?
And when the moment of truth arrives, when Today, conditioned to race, starts pushing herself past her limits once again, Coli has to make an impossible choice. To save her, he must defy everything.
What I Loved
鉁旓笍 A Unique, Thought-Provoking Premise 鈥� A racehorse running the slowest race possible? A robot who watches the sky? This book is so beautifully original in how it tackles productivity, exhaustion, and the need for gentle rebellion.
鉁旓笍 Coli鈥檚 Perspective 鈥� Robots in sci-fi are often cold and calculating, but Coli? He鈥檚 poetic. He鈥檚 kind. He鈥檚 full of longing. His perspective gives the novel an almost melancholic beauty.
鉁旓笍 Emotional Depth 鈥� This isn鈥檛 just about a horse, a robot, and a woman, it鈥檚 about every person who has ever felt like they weren鈥檛 enough because they couldn鈥檛 keep up. It will hit you right in the heart.
鉁旓笍 A Hopeful Yet Heartbreaking Ending 鈥� No spoilers, but let鈥檚 just say... you will feel things鈥�. I cried!
What Could Have Been Better?
A Slow Burn (Literally) 鈥� The book itself mirrors its theme of slowness, which means it takes its time unfolding. Some readers might find the pacing too slow or meditative, but if you鈥檙e patient, the payoff is worth it.
Not Plot-Driven 鈥� If you鈥檙e looking for high action, twists, and suspense, this isn鈥檛 that kind of book. It鈥檚 more about emotion, reflection, and atmosphere.
Final Verdict: Read This If You Love鈥�
鉁旓笍 Sci-Fi With Heart 鈥� If you enjoy books that use robots and technology to explore humanity (like Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro), this will hit the spot.
鉁旓笍 Literary Fiction With a Quiet Punch 鈥� If you love books that take their time, make you think, and leave you feeling profoundly moved, this is a must-read.
鉁旓笍 Stories That Challenge the System 鈥� If you鈥檙e interested in books that critique capitalism, productivity culture, and the way society discards those who aren鈥檛 鈥渦seful鈥�, A Thousand Blues is a gentle but powerful act of resistance.
鉁旓笍 Books That Feel Like Poetry 鈥� If you love lyrical, beautifully written novels that read like a quiet, reflective song, this book is pure art.
Final Thoughts: A Gentle but Powerful Reminder to Slow Down
A Thousand Blues is the kind of book that lingers. It doesn鈥檛 demand attention, it simply waits for you to find it. Much like Coli himself, it is quiet, observant, and deeply emotional.
In a world that moves too fast, this book dares to pause. And in that pause, it made me ask myself:
馃挋 What would happen if we all slowed down?鈥�
馃挋 What if success wasn鈥檛 about speed, but about meaning?鈥�
馃挋 And what if the most powerful act of rebellion... was simply to exist on our own terms?
This book is a hymn to those who refuse to be left behind. To those who choose kindness over efficiency, rest over exhaustion, love over productivity.
So take a deep breath.鈥⊿low down.鈥ˋnd let A Thousand Blues wash over you. Highly recommend if you need a down to earth read ad a reminder that we are all human.
馃枊 Author: Cheon Seon-ran鈥�
猸愶笍 Rating: 鈽呪槄鈽呪槄鈽� (4/5)鈥�
馃寠 Themes: Slowing down, environmentalism, friendship, resistance against toxic productivity
The year is 2035, and the world is racing forward at breakneck speed鈥�.but at what cost?
In a society obsessed with efficiency, where everything has a purpose until it doesn鈥檛, we meet Coli, a discarded robot who, against all logic, still finds beauty in the sky. When he鈥檚 found by a young woman with a heart too big for this world, their paths intertwine in an unexpected way: through a broken-down racehorse named Today.
The mission? To let Today run one last race.鈥═he twist? This time, the goal isn鈥檛 to win鈥ut to run the slowest race in history.
But in a world where slowness is rebellion, what seems like a simple act of kindness becomes something far bigger.
Coli is a robot who was designed to serve but has been thrown away, a relic of an outdated model. He should be nothing more than scrap metal, but he still dreams, still wonders, still cares.
When a kind-hearted woman discovers him and takes him in, she introduces him to Today, a once-prized racehorse who has been used and discarded just like him. After a lifetime of being forced to run, to win, to be the best, Today is now considered worthless, facing an inevitable fate at the knackers鈥� yard.
Determined to give Today a final moment of happiness, they hatch a plan:
One Last Race. But Instead of Speed, They Will Teach Her to Go Slow.
This seemingly small act is actually a protest, a rejection of the fast-paced, unforgiving world that discards anything that can鈥檛 keep up.
But as Coli watches Today struggle between instinct and expectation, he realises something heartbreaking:
Can she even remember how to slow down?
And when the moment of truth arrives, when Today, conditioned to race, starts pushing herself past her limits once again, Coli has to make an impossible choice. To save her, he must defy everything.
What I Loved
鉁旓笍 A Unique, Thought-Provoking Premise 鈥� A racehorse running the slowest race possible? A robot who watches the sky? This book is so beautifully original in how it tackles productivity, exhaustion, and the need for gentle rebellion.
鉁旓笍 Coli鈥檚 Perspective 鈥� Robots in sci-fi are often cold and calculating, but Coli? He鈥檚 poetic. He鈥檚 kind. He鈥檚 full of longing. His perspective gives the novel an almost melancholic beauty.
鉁旓笍 Emotional Depth 鈥� This isn鈥檛 just about a horse, a robot, and a woman, it鈥檚 about every person who has ever felt like they weren鈥檛 enough because they couldn鈥檛 keep up. It will hit you right in the heart.
鉁旓笍 A Hopeful Yet Heartbreaking Ending 鈥� No spoilers, but let鈥檚 just say... you will feel things鈥�. I cried!
What Could Have Been Better?
A Slow Burn (Literally) 鈥� The book itself mirrors its theme of slowness, which means it takes its time unfolding. Some readers might find the pacing too slow or meditative, but if you鈥檙e patient, the payoff is worth it.
Not Plot-Driven 鈥� If you鈥檙e looking for high action, twists, and suspense, this isn鈥檛 that kind of book. It鈥檚 more about emotion, reflection, and atmosphere.
Final Verdict: Read This If You Love鈥�
鉁旓笍 Sci-Fi With Heart 鈥� If you enjoy books that use robots and technology to explore humanity (like Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro), this will hit the spot.
鉁旓笍 Literary Fiction With a Quiet Punch 鈥� If you love books that take their time, make you think, and leave you feeling profoundly moved, this is a must-read.
鉁旓笍 Stories That Challenge the System 鈥� If you鈥檙e interested in books that critique capitalism, productivity culture, and the way society discards those who aren鈥檛 鈥渦seful鈥�, A Thousand Blues is a gentle but powerful act of resistance.
鉁旓笍 Books That Feel Like Poetry 鈥� If you love lyrical, beautifully written novels that read like a quiet, reflective song, this book is pure art.
Final Thoughts: A Gentle but Powerful Reminder to Slow Down
A Thousand Blues is the kind of book that lingers. It doesn鈥檛 demand attention, it simply waits for you to find it. Much like Coli himself, it is quiet, observant, and deeply emotional.
In a world that moves too fast, this book dares to pause. And in that pause, it made me ask myself:
馃挋 What would happen if we all slowed down?鈥�
馃挋 What if success wasn鈥檛 about speed, but about meaning?鈥�
馃挋 And what if the most powerful act of rebellion... was simply to exist on our own terms?
This book is a hymn to those who refuse to be left behind. To those who choose kindness over efficiency, rest over exhaustion, love over productivity.
So take a deep breath.鈥⊿low down.鈥ˋnd let A Thousand Blues wash over you. Highly recommend if you need a down to earth read ad a reminder that we are all human.
February 14, 2025
This soft and gentle book combines two popular strands of contemporary Korean literature - sci-fi and healing novels. It is probably more suited to healing novel fans, rather than hardcore sci-fi readers. Set in a slightly alternative 2035, where most jobs are done by robots, it follows the story of a malfunctioning jockey robot, who is rescued and restored by a reclusive teenager. Now, they have to figure out how to save the robot's struggling riding horse from inevitable euthanasia. We meet a cast of characters, including the girl's disabled sister, her pushy classmate who wants to be her friend, her former actress turned small restaurant owner mum, and a vet from the racing track.
The book starts with a description of a horse race, and I was expecting it to focus on horses and racing (not a very appealing prospect for me, as I don't particularly care for horses). Thankfully, after the opening chapter, the narrative primarily focuses on Yeonjae, the girl who saves the robot, and her family. We get extensive chapters into their background (sans the dad, who is referred to as 'the firefighter' throughout, the man doesn't get to have a name, let alone a personality), and learn their perspectives.
I initially really enjoyed this book, thinking that it brings the best Korean healing novels can offer - a critique of capitalism, a defence of animal rights, an exploration of disability, all wrapped in a message to slow down, The initial chapters, more clearly focused on Yeonjae, have a bit of bite to them. I expected the story to focus more on her relationship with the robot, as cutifying robots is a genre in itself by now (Wall-E or The Wild Robot come to mind). Instead, the narrative switches to Yeonjae's disabled sister Eunhye, who cannot have an operation to get robotic legs due to its prohibitive costs, their mum, Yeonjae's new friend at school, and other characters. As a result, it feels like the novel is trying to do far too much, never giving any single issue the depth and the space to breathe. One moment we are reading about disability rights, then we are immediately plunged into a story of school social isolation and class difference, there is blink and you miss it queerness, whatever you want, it is probably in there. Apart from a coherent narrative and compelling plotting, that is.
The disability storyline in particular left me in two minds. It is giving 'the author had the best intentions, and presented a manifesto about accessibility'. It is stressed throughout that Eunhye does not necessarily want to be like abled people (eg have legs), but she wants to have the same opportunities and the same freedom (a point often seen in disability advocacy social media posts). The focus should be on the world to provide accommodations for her, not for her body to change to normative. However, that's all it felt like - social media advocacy posts. Because of all the other seventeen thousand storylines, we never got to know Eunhye better or see more nuance in her story.
It was also interesting to see that the critique of capitalism touched upon at the beginning, when Yeonjae loses her job to a robot, faded into the background pretty quickly. Something I've noticed in Korean healing novels is that the critique of capitalism is often there, but it rarely morphs into tangible left-wing socioeconomic ideas. 'Slow down and touch grass', or, more often 'withdraw from society', instead of 'start a revolution', with a hefty support for small business owners (see those endless bookshop, caf茅, laundromat etc novels). I wonder if this is due to the history of the Korean peninsular and the existence of North Korea, which might create a different cultural perception of economic left-wing ideas (which I am sympathetic to, as someone from the former USSR).
Overall, there was a lot of potential in this book, but for me, it tried to do too much,
The book starts with a description of a horse race, and I was expecting it to focus on horses and racing (not a very appealing prospect for me, as I don't particularly care for horses). Thankfully, after the opening chapter, the narrative primarily focuses on Yeonjae, the girl who saves the robot, and her family. We get extensive chapters into their background (sans the dad, who is referred to as 'the firefighter' throughout, the man doesn't get to have a name, let alone a personality), and learn their perspectives.
I initially really enjoyed this book, thinking that it brings the best Korean healing novels can offer - a critique of capitalism, a defence of animal rights, an exploration of disability, all wrapped in a message to slow down, The initial chapters, more clearly focused on Yeonjae, have a bit of bite to them. I expected the story to focus more on her relationship with the robot, as cutifying robots is a genre in itself by now (Wall-E or The Wild Robot come to mind). Instead, the narrative switches to Yeonjae's disabled sister Eunhye, who cannot have an operation to get robotic legs due to its prohibitive costs, their mum, Yeonjae's new friend at school, and other characters. As a result, it feels like the novel is trying to do far too much, never giving any single issue the depth and the space to breathe. One moment we are reading about disability rights, then we are immediately plunged into a story of school social isolation and class difference, there is blink and you miss it queerness, whatever you want, it is probably in there. Apart from a coherent narrative and compelling plotting, that is.
The disability storyline in particular left me in two minds. It is giving 'the author had the best intentions, and presented a manifesto about accessibility'. It is stressed throughout that Eunhye does not necessarily want to be like abled people (eg have legs), but she wants to have the same opportunities and the same freedom (a point often seen in disability advocacy social media posts). The focus should be on the world to provide accommodations for her, not for her body to change to normative. However, that's all it felt like - social media advocacy posts. Because of all the other seventeen thousand storylines, we never got to know Eunhye better or see more nuance in her story.
It was also interesting to see that the critique of capitalism touched upon at the beginning, when Yeonjae loses her job to a robot, faded into the background pretty quickly. Something I've noticed in Korean healing novels is that the critique of capitalism is often there, but it rarely morphs into tangible left-wing socioeconomic ideas. 'Slow down and touch grass', or, more often 'withdraw from society', instead of 'start a revolution', with a hefty support for small business owners (see those endless bookshop, caf茅, laundromat etc novels). I wonder if this is due to the history of the Korean peninsular and the existence of North Korea, which might create a different cultural perception of economic left-wing ideas (which I am sympathetic to, as someone from the former USSR).
Overall, there was a lot of potential in this book, but for me, it tried to do too much,
August 17, 2023
Die Autorin wurde mit einem koreanischen Science-Fiction Preis f眉r dieses Buch geehrt, wer nun aber eine spannende Geschichte in der Zukunft erwartet, in der Humanoiden und neue Technologien alles um uns herum ver盲ndern der ist mit diesem Buch falsch beraten. Sie kommen zwar vor, nehmen aber nur sehr wenig Raum ein.
Eine kleine, koreanische Familie, bestehend aus der Mutter und zwei T枚chtern, Eunhye und Yeonjae, davon eine im Rollstuhl sitzend, k盲mpfen mit sozialen Problemen. Einsamkeit und soziale Teilhabe, Trauer um den verlorenen Ehemann und nicht ausgesprochene Konflikte pr盲gen ihr Leben. Hinzu kommt eine Umwelt in der einfache Arbeiten immer mehr durch Roboter ersetzt werden, so dass Menschen in die Arbeitslosigkeit rutschen oder nicht mehr konkurrenzf盲hig sind. Wenn durch aus aktuelles Thema.
Da tritt ein kleiner Jockey Roboter 鈥濳oli鈥� in ihr Leben, der bei einem Pferderennen mit der Stute Today st眉rzte und zu Bruch ging. Auch die Stute ist schwer verletzt. Beide soll nicht mehr weiter existieren. In der Rahmenhandlung des Buches geht es nun darum, das Pferd gl眉cklich zu machen damit es wieder in Einklang mit Koli atmen kann.
Um dieses Ger眉st ranken sich alle anderen Themen, die die Menschen dieses Plots besch盲ftigen. Es geht um Tierwohl, Einsamkeit und Inklusion, also Themen die Bestand haben, egal wie fortschrittlich unsere Welt sich entwickelt und damit einher geht die moralische Verpflichtung, soziale Eckpfeiler unseres Daseins nicht aus den Augen zu verlieren
Es sind nicht wenige Themen, die hier angeschnitten werden, man k枚nnte meinen, dass es zu viel des Guten ist. Aber in diesem Buch wurde sich so tief in die Fragen gekniet, dass sie mich in eine innere Auseinandersetzung mit mir selbst brachten.
Philosophisch ist dieses Buch, das beschreibt es wohl am n盲chsten. Als Science-Fiction Roman w眉rde ich es nicht bezeichnen, wenn es auch Elemente aus diesem Genre hat.
Der Roman wirkt 盲therisch wie der blaue Himmel, um den es sich hier h盲ufig dreht. Wie leichte Schleier wabern, die Gedanken und Dialoge 眉ber einem und verlieren sich manchmal, kommen wieder zur眉ck, wiederholen sich und werden vertieft.
Es gibt eine Handlung, sie steht aber nicht im Vordergrund, manchmal fehlt etwas die Substanz, an der man sich festhalten kann. Ich f眉hlte mich ein und das andere Mal an Jostein Gaarders 鈥濻ofies Welt鈥� erinnert, nur, dass wir hier kein westliches, sondern ein koreanisches Setting haben. Das tr盲gt sicherlich auch dazu bei, dass mir manches Mal der Stil etwas fremd war, die S盲tze etwas verdreht vorkamen
Das Buch ist keine leichte Lekt眉re. Es forderte mich als Leserin insofern, dass ich mich mit vielen Wiederholungen auseinandersetzen musste, Ja, manchmal war es auch langatmig aber mir nie langweilig. Irgendwann habe ich aber gemerkt, dass genau das das Buch ausmacht: Eine intensive Besch盲ftigung mit wesentlichen Fragen des Zusammenlebens auf der Basis parabelhafter Literatur.
Die Protagonisten finden in dem Buch wieder zueinander nicht zuletzt durch Koli, der ein ganz besonderer Humanoid ist und der genauso kommt und geht wie die Gedanken zu dem Buch.
Eine kleine, koreanische Familie, bestehend aus der Mutter und zwei T枚chtern, Eunhye und Yeonjae, davon eine im Rollstuhl sitzend, k盲mpfen mit sozialen Problemen. Einsamkeit und soziale Teilhabe, Trauer um den verlorenen Ehemann und nicht ausgesprochene Konflikte pr盲gen ihr Leben. Hinzu kommt eine Umwelt in der einfache Arbeiten immer mehr durch Roboter ersetzt werden, so dass Menschen in die Arbeitslosigkeit rutschen oder nicht mehr konkurrenzf盲hig sind. Wenn durch aus aktuelles Thema.
Da tritt ein kleiner Jockey Roboter 鈥濳oli鈥� in ihr Leben, der bei einem Pferderennen mit der Stute Today st眉rzte und zu Bruch ging. Auch die Stute ist schwer verletzt. Beide soll nicht mehr weiter existieren. In der Rahmenhandlung des Buches geht es nun darum, das Pferd gl眉cklich zu machen damit es wieder in Einklang mit Koli atmen kann.
Um dieses Ger眉st ranken sich alle anderen Themen, die die Menschen dieses Plots besch盲ftigen. Es geht um Tierwohl, Einsamkeit und Inklusion, also Themen die Bestand haben, egal wie fortschrittlich unsere Welt sich entwickelt und damit einher geht die moralische Verpflichtung, soziale Eckpfeiler unseres Daseins nicht aus den Augen zu verlieren
Es sind nicht wenige Themen, die hier angeschnitten werden, man k枚nnte meinen, dass es zu viel des Guten ist. Aber in diesem Buch wurde sich so tief in die Fragen gekniet, dass sie mich in eine innere Auseinandersetzung mit mir selbst brachten.
Philosophisch ist dieses Buch, das beschreibt es wohl am n盲chsten. Als Science-Fiction Roman w眉rde ich es nicht bezeichnen, wenn es auch Elemente aus diesem Genre hat.
Der Roman wirkt 盲therisch wie der blaue Himmel, um den es sich hier h盲ufig dreht. Wie leichte Schleier wabern, die Gedanken und Dialoge 眉ber einem und verlieren sich manchmal, kommen wieder zur眉ck, wiederholen sich und werden vertieft.
Es gibt eine Handlung, sie steht aber nicht im Vordergrund, manchmal fehlt etwas die Substanz, an der man sich festhalten kann. Ich f眉hlte mich ein und das andere Mal an Jostein Gaarders 鈥濻ofies Welt鈥� erinnert, nur, dass wir hier kein westliches, sondern ein koreanisches Setting haben. Das tr盲gt sicherlich auch dazu bei, dass mir manches Mal der Stil etwas fremd war, die S盲tze etwas verdreht vorkamen
Das Buch ist keine leichte Lekt眉re. Es forderte mich als Leserin insofern, dass ich mich mit vielen Wiederholungen auseinandersetzen musste, Ja, manchmal war es auch langatmig aber mir nie langweilig. Irgendwann habe ich aber gemerkt, dass genau das das Buch ausmacht: Eine intensive Besch盲ftigung mit wesentlichen Fragen des Zusammenlebens auf der Basis parabelhafter Literatur.
Die Protagonisten finden in dem Buch wieder zueinander nicht zuletzt durch Koli, der ein ganz besonderer Humanoid ist und der genauso kommt und geht wie die Gedanken zu dem Buch.
March 25, 2025
Published earlier this month, this book is one of the reasons why I love Korean and Japanese translated works. This is a book packed full of themes and moments that will hurt your heart. We are in the near future where AI and robots are becoming more widespread. People are losing their jobs because buying a robot is cheaper. In this story that covers the space of about six months we are in the world of horse racing. Human jockeys have been replaced by robot jockeys because 1) jockeys were getting hurt and 2) robot jockeys are much lighter and so the horses can go much faster. Coli is the jockey robot who rides Today and they are a champion winning team. Coli - by accident -was fitted with the wrong chip and is sentient. He is inquisitive, he understands the world around him, he can feel through touch that when Today runs she is happy and so he is happy too. However, he falls from her and is crushed, destined to be thrown away until a young girl, Yeonjae, who wants to be involved in robotics finds him, buys him and takes him home to repair. Her mother is not that keen; she mistrusts robots. As for her sister, Eunhye, who is confined to a wheelchair, she is more interested in Today. Every day she is at the stables with the horse. But Today is suffering. The speeds that she is reaching are affecting her and her joints are failing. A horse that cannot race has only one fate. Therefore the two sisters set out to make sure that Today can have one last race, urged on by Coli who wants Today to be happy one last time. But this race will be different, for this race Today must be the slowest. The themes come thick and fast in this novel - disability and accessibilty is one of them. Eunhye鈥檚 mother cannot afford for her to have prosthetic limbs, but all around money is being spent on producing more mobile robots. The robots can go anywhere, Eunhye cannot. Then there is the theme of animal rights - the fact that the only thing that Today has to look forward to when she can no longer race is death. Also sisters and their mother are closed up, trapped in their own feelings which is reflected in the small box that Coli is kept in at the track and Today鈥檚 small stable. For the humans, Coli is the catalyst to help them find their freedom. But this is also a book that reminds us to take our time. Just as Today must run her slowest race, so we too should slow down and, like Coli, enjoy the thousand blues in the sky.
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