"이대로는 죽어.
콜리는 그렇게 생각했다.
그래서 그날, 관중석이 꽉 찬 늦여름의 경기에서 콜리는 스스로 낙마했다

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 the ground."

A Thousand Blues is translated by Chi-Young Kim from the original 천개의 파랑 by 천선란 (Cheon Seon-ran).

Winner of the 2019 한국과학문학상 (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 과천 (Gwacheon) currently known as Let's Run Park (렛츠런파크) 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. 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’t 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."

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 (투데이) 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 (연재) and Eunhye (은혜), 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 (콜리), 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) embark on a plan to give Today one last chance of life.

4 stars overall although 3 stars for personal taste - rather like Klara and the Sun (and I think this is the stronger book) not entirely my thing. 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.

Get ready for a story that will tug at your heart and blow your mind! A Thousand Blues dives into how technology shapes our lives—sometimes in amazing ways, sometimes not so much. It’s got everything: the clash between social classes, the pressure of a tech-driven world, and two unforgettable main characters. They couldn’t be more different, but they’re both smart, resourceful, and determined to take control of their lives.

One of the coolest parts? The way technology is reimagined for people with disabilities. It’s described as being made “so nobody has to be lonely,” and honestly, that hit me right in the feels. This tech doesn’t just make life easier; it creates freedom, strengthens relationships, and makes everything feel more connected. And just when you think the story couldn’t get any deeper, there’s a twist: the characters’ kindness inspires a movement to help animals. How amazing is that?

The only thing I wasn’t totally sold on was the writing style—there are a lot of different points of view, and it can get a little confusing. But honestly, the story’s heart and creativity more than make up for it. If you’re into stories about tech, kindness, and people who dare to dream big, A Thousand Blues is your next must-read!

A huge thank you to Random House and @netgalley for the ARC of this incredible book!

When I read the description of this book I was a bit wtf but I really loved it. Quite a random story and I don’t really know how to describe it but the characters and the relationships are written beautifully. It’s quite philosophical in nature and also a little happy and sad all at the same time. Worth a read, thanks NetGalley for the advance copy.

A Thousand Blues was one of those tales that seemed simple on the surface but which covered many deep themes and complex ideas. It considers the constant race for success in life, the difficulties of dealing with grief and with animal and human rights. The story was told in multiple POVs, which made the timeline jump a little, but not in any way that made it hard to follow. These diverse POVs also allowed us to see aspects of the story from different perspectives, building up a full picture. This was a tale that was at times sad and at other times uplifting, and when I turned the final page, it had certainly made me ponder many things. Recommended to fans of intelligent and thought-provoking reads whether or not you are usually a sci-fi fan. I am giving it 4.5 stars.

Ah! I really wanted to love this one. However, I found the writing very clunky and the time jumps confusing. I couldn’t 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.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one even though on paper this should not be the sort of literature I gravitate towards. Like a previous reader and or reviewer, I think sentient robots are extremely cringe-worthy and to a significant extent pretty gross and distasteful, but the elements of grief, sacrifice, love and all things humans balanced the entire narrative up and made everything very palatable. An understatement, that is. This goes without saying but it's a brilliantly written work, approved and recommended by a bunch of other South Korean writers whose work I already love and appreciate. I can totally imagine a film adaptation of this if it's not already made or being made. Spectacularly done in terms of pace, action and taking hold of the reader's attention. While I can't compare fairly since I've not read it in the Korean text, I personally am not a fan of the translation style - so much so that I almost gave up very early into the book, but the plot - which is not something I usually prioritise in a piece of writing - was highly engaging and meaningful. And that sort of made all the difference.

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 Lonely Castle in the Mirror.

Now, I don't want to play the comparison game here, but it's the best way I can talk about this book. Lonely Castle in the Mirror 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.

3.5 The premise of this was intriguing - I love a good robot tale! The robot sections were great but the book was let down by its lack of focus, simplistic writing, and inconsistent pacing.

What worked for me:
👍 Everything about C-27/Coli
👍 Representation and insight into the experience of our character, Eunhye, who uses a wheelchair
👍 Yeonjae, Jisu, and Eunhye were interesting characters. I particularly like the relationship between Yeonjae and Jisu. I loved hearing about Yeonjae’s interest and skill working with the robots!
👍 The translation was solid: I’ve read a few translations from Kim Chi-young and like their work
👍 Social and animal justice themes!
👍 The cover is beautiful

What I wasn’t so keen on:
👎 Pacing is wonky: the story is very slow overall; we’re introduced to the urgently-paced robot/horse thread early so some of the side character chapters (mom, vet) with their slow, repetitive content, felt frustratingly slow and superfluous
👎 The storytelling was dry and simplistic told with simplistic language made this feel like something geared toward kids (I felt the swearing was there simply to stop this being a kids/YA book)
👎 Ham-fisted personal development messages that lacked subtlety and finesse (another reason this felt like a younger read)
👎 I loathed how Bogyeong’s only “purpose for staying alive” after a serious injury was a man
👎 Some of the characters actions don’t make sense: Bokhui recognizes and abhors the gross exploitation of the horses yet assaults a reporter who she thinks is doing an exposé on that very matter, to… protect a corporation? 🙃 Why does Yeonjae approach her former manager to make the horse bet?

There’s a good story here. I wish Cheon had focused more on the robot/racetrack story rather than zooming in to such a macro level with the Kim/Woo family. I’m not entirely sure this works as an adult novel due to the simplicity and slightly twee style.