Published in 2025 (first published 2020)
8 hours and 11 minutes
Born in 1993, Cheon Seon-ran is a beloved author by the ‘MZ Generation’ (Millennials and Gen Z) of South Korea. A graduate from the department of creative writing in Anyang Arts High School, she holds a master’s 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.
What is this book about?
It’s only when we slow down that we can truly experience joy …
2035: In the shadow of a race-course, two sisters grow up, helping their mother at the local cafe that serves renowned ramen. Family life is fractious especially when one of them loses their day-job to an automaton.
When the sisters discover their beloved race-horse Today is being sent to the knacker’s yard after a lifetime of over-racing, they are determined to rescue her.
To remind Today of happier times, they hatch a plan to let her run one last race. But it will be no ordinary event.
They will train her to run the slowest race of her life.
Narrated by a most unusual and unforgettable storyteller, A Thousand Blues is a powerful hymn to our humanity. Brimming with heart, hope and rage, it is a book to cherish, share and come back to.
‘A stunningly crafted novel, evoking a myriad emotions’ Kim Bo-young
‘A dazzling, warm novel that shows us how to move forward as a society without leaving anyone or anything behind’ Choi Jin-young, author of To the Warm Horizon
