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Capital Misfits
A capsule collection of surreal short stories from one of Australia's rising stars.
A woman arrives on the seventh level of Heaven, only to realise it is a trading floor where the dead swap their karma before rebirth. In a Sydney laboratory, a vagrant participates in cosmeceutical trials in return for a Rolex watch. On an island made out of sugar, a student questions the rule of the benevolent Sugar Daddy. At an open mic night in New York, a zen poet takes the stage and begins to tell the greatest, most devastating joke in the world. In this blackly funny parallel universe, Koh explores the absurdity of a world in which the market has become God.
This special edition of Capital Misfits is illustrated by award-winning New York-based artist, Matt Huynh.
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'Julie Koh's stories explore the bizarre, the unexpected and the surreal, whilst never losing sight of the human. Witty, horrifying and thought provoking by turns, Capital Misfits is a truly memorable collection from an original voice in Australian short fiction.'
— Ryan O'Neill, author of The Weight of a Human Heart and Their Brilliant Careers
'I will beg, borrow or steal to make sure I read anything Julie writes.'
— Louise Swinn, Editorial Director of Sleepers Publishing
A woman arrives on the seventh level of Heaven, only to realise it is a trading floor where the dead swap their karma before rebirth. In a Sydney laboratory, a vagrant participates in cosmeceutical trials in return for a Rolex watch. On an island made out of sugar, a student questions the rule of the benevolent Sugar Daddy. At an open mic night in New York, a zen poet takes the stage and begins to tell the greatest, most devastating joke in the world. In this blackly funny parallel universe, Koh explores the absurdity of a world in which the market has become God.
This special edition of Capital Misfits is illustrated by award-winning New York-based artist, Matt Huynh.
—
'Julie Koh's stories explore the bizarre, the unexpected and the surreal, whilst never losing sight of the human. Witty, horrifying and thought provoking by turns, Capital Misfits is a truly memorable collection from an original voice in Australian short fiction.'
— Ryan O'Neill, author of The Weight of a Human Heart and Their Brilliant Careers
'I will beg, borrow or steal to make sure I read anything Julie writes.'
— Louise Swinn, Editorial Director of Sleepers Publishing
116 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2016
1 person is currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
Julie Koh
20 books69 followersJulie Koh studied politics and law at the University of Sydney, then quit a career in corporate law to pursue writing. She is the author of two short-story collections: Capital Misfits and Portable Curiosities. The latter was shortlisted for several literary prizes and led to Julie being named a 2017 Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist. Her short stories have appeared in publications including the Best Australian Stories in 2014 to 2017, and Best Australian Comedy Writing. Outside Australia, her fiction has been published in China, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Ireland and the United States. Julie edited BooksActually’s Gold Standard, co-founded the experimental literary collective Kanganoulipo, and was a judge for the 2018 Stella Prize. She is also the librettist for the satirical opera Chop Chef.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 2, 2017
capital misfits is stunning. it’s one of the best short story collections i’ve read. each time a story comes to a close i feel like this T__T i wish i could hit someone on the head with this book and they’d be convinced of how perfect this is, instead of having to explain myself, bc i feel like whatever i say will be inadequate.
often when i read short stories, the individual pieces aren’t uniquely memorable, you forget it after turning the page and they blend into the rest of the book. you can’t think of a specific story that stood apart from the rest because they all seem the same, alluding to the same images & emotions. the stories in ‘capital misfits’ disclose a voice distinct from everything else i’ve read before, and just as importantly, the stories are each distinct from one another. as political commentaries, they are smart, subtle and searing. as reflections of today’s society, each story succeeds in lifting an aspect of ugly human behaviour up to a magnifying glass & twists it into something darker, an absurd version of reality. as a reader, recognising what she’s referring to or being critical of, & identifying it is where the humour comes from. highly, highly recommend.
(detailed review & quotes here http://blog.herbonestructure.com/post...)
often when i read short stories, the individual pieces aren’t uniquely memorable, you forget it after turning the page and they blend into the rest of the book. you can’t think of a specific story that stood apart from the rest because they all seem the same, alluding to the same images & emotions. the stories in ‘capital misfits’ disclose a voice distinct from everything else i’ve read before, and just as importantly, the stories are each distinct from one another. as political commentaries, they are smart, subtle and searing. as reflections of today’s society, each story succeeds in lifting an aspect of ugly human behaviour up to a magnifying glass & twists it into something darker, an absurd version of reality. as a reader, recognising what she’s referring to or being critical of, & identifying it is where the humour comes from. highly, highly recommend.
(detailed review & quotes here http://blog.herbonestructure.com/post...)
February 12, 2017
Where the magic of Julie Koh began :) this is a beautifully set paperback edition of what was originally e-book only (as far as I know). Math Paper Press have done a fantastic job. Matt Huynh's illustrations add a sense of wonder to Koh's already magical stories.
Favourite story: The Level Playing Field.
Favourite story: The Level Playing Field.
May 23, 2018
I can't begin to explain how great Julie Koh's writing is. Her stories are like dark little fables that just gnaw at you. Koh's voice is unique and wonderful, punishing and playful. Excellent. Excellent! Excellent!!
April 25, 2017
I loved every bit of the book, from the theme to the level of suspense, down to the language. Every story was controlled and simply written with such flair, and every story felt new and fresh, although the topic of capitalism and the current state of the world was depressing. This book is amazing, and I can't wait to read more of Julie Koh's works!
July 10, 2018
This collection of stories definitely provides a worthwhile amount of imagery and ideas. Some much better than others, the troupe of stories has a variety that is sometimes more poignant than others. That diversity is both what makes the book shine and falter. It's a great collection but felt not so focused on capitalism as I thought it would be.
I would recommend this book for its digestible and intelligent storytelling.
I would recommend this book for its digestible and intelligent storytelling.
December 22, 2019
For someone who does not always like reading short stories or novellas, Capital Misfits sure entertained me to infinity and beyond. It's imaginative though weird, it's original and very unrealistic, and it's creepy but lovely. The best part of the book is that Julie leaves her reader in a magical state without being all pretentious/artsy about her writing. This is definitely one of my favourite books of 2019.
January 5, 2019
A collection of dark short stories, mostly centered on capitalism and its failures. I read the whole thing in one sitting, but could've done without some of them. I loved the Trading Room Floor for its creative interpretation of the afterlife and the Level Playing Field, which was a rather heavy-handed metaphor, but had a killer ending.
January 2, 2020
Delightfully quirky.
November 14, 2020
4.5 stars
Really good collection of stories that talk about capitalism and city life. I really enjoyed the stories and their dark themes.
Really good collection of stories that talk about capitalism and city life. I really enjoyed the stories and their dark themes.
April 21, 2020
I really loved the twisted humour of The Trading Floor in Heaven and Sugar Daddy, but found some of the other stories a bit too dark for me (compared to Koh's Portable Curiosities which I was so thrilled to read).
January 13, 2018
Capital Misfits consists of 7 short stories each exploring different themes and ideas. Almost a satire of the modern day issues, political and otherwise.
The very first short story in her book is titled the trading floor in heaven. The story essentially follows a woman who finds herself on the 7th floor of heaven only to discover that it is a trading floor.
A place for you to trade in your karma before you are re-birthed again. As you follow her, you see how much people are willing to trade off on their karma, " 2 years in prison" for " an early death"
As i was reading, a lot of the time i was thinking " well is that a fair trade?" and often times it is not but that the thing because we always think what we have is always much worse than what someone else has and you would do anything to get rid of it but as a reader, you can see so many people making bad choices.
and ofcourse there are the karma-brokers. the stockbrokers of the otherworld who help you to get rid of your karmas and the only way to pay them is by relieving them of their own bad karma.
you also get to see how someone " crashed" the 'mental illness karma stock' and watch everyone bidding off their own pre-existing, a far less bad karma ( like having a bad habit of biting nails) in exchange for some depression. you see, these people beg for depression and it is so eye opening because we see it in the real world too.
the story forces the readers to confront their own privilege and the " disadvantage"they are burdened with is not as big as they may think it to be. an eye opening message on the fact that we are so full of ourselves that we cannot recognize our own privilege.
i believe that the 7 different stories were a reimagination of the 7 deadly sins and the way julie koh explores them in today's world is truly beautiful and unique.
Julie Koh's writing is style is eloquent, in the sense that the book itself is less than a 100 pages and her stories, even shorter but somehow the impression and messages they leave you with is far more lasting and meaningful than most full length novel can hope to accomplish in 300 pages and that is one of the most telling signs of a talented writer.
i advocate the idea that the books belong to their readers so perhaps, my interpretations may not be the same as yours but even then i insist that you do pick it up because even if you end up not liking it, this is not the kind of book you will have nothing to say about. the stories will haunt you whether you loved them or not and everytime you read it again you find something you left out the previous time.
The very first short story in her book is titled the trading floor in heaven. The story essentially follows a woman who finds herself on the 7th floor of heaven only to discover that it is a trading floor.
A place for you to trade in your karma before you are re-birthed again. As you follow her, you see how much people are willing to trade off on their karma, " 2 years in prison" for " an early death"
As i was reading, a lot of the time i was thinking " well is that a fair trade?" and often times it is not but that the thing because we always think what we have is always much worse than what someone else has and you would do anything to get rid of it but as a reader, you can see so many people making bad choices.
and ofcourse there are the karma-brokers. the stockbrokers of the otherworld who help you to get rid of your karmas and the only way to pay them is by relieving them of their own bad karma.
you also get to see how someone " crashed" the 'mental illness karma stock' and watch everyone bidding off their own pre-existing, a far less bad karma ( like having a bad habit of biting nails) in exchange for some depression. you see, these people beg for depression and it is so eye opening because we see it in the real world too.
the story forces the readers to confront their own privilege and the " disadvantage"they are burdened with is not as big as they may think it to be. an eye opening message on the fact that we are so full of ourselves that we cannot recognize our own privilege.
i believe that the 7 different stories were a reimagination of the 7 deadly sins and the way julie koh explores them in today's world is truly beautiful and unique.
Julie Koh's writing is style is eloquent, in the sense that the book itself is less than a 100 pages and her stories, even shorter but somehow the impression and messages they leave you with is far more lasting and meaningful than most full length novel can hope to accomplish in 300 pages and that is one of the most telling signs of a talented writer.
i advocate the idea that the books belong to their readers so perhaps, my interpretations may not be the same as yours but even then i insist that you do pick it up because even if you end up not liking it, this is not the kind of book you will have nothing to say about. the stories will haunt you whether you loved them or not and everytime you read it again you find something you left out the previous time.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews