The World Is Yours: Microfictions

by Ran Walker

“You're trying to do too much with this collection,” a friend told him. “I can’t tell if you’re writing jokes or poems or stories. This book is all over the place!”

He nodded. Maybe it was. But then there are so many different aspects to a person’s personality, he figured.

Maybe an eclectic collection of stories wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

At least he hoped so.

***
Ran Walker's twentieth book pulls together a wide variety of microfiction stories. From the raw to the sublime, this collection explores Walker's ever-evolving take on the form.

80 pages, Paperback

Published May 5, 2020

About the author

Ran Walker is the author of four novels (The Keys of My Soul, B-Sides and Remixes, 30 Love, and Mojo's Guitar), two novellas (Beat Bop and Afro Nerd in Love), and two short story collections (Secrets & Cures and 16 Bars). His short stories and poetry have appeared in a variety of anthologies.

Ran is the recipient of both a 2005 Mississippi Arts Commission/NEA artist grant and a 2006 artist mini-grant, and he has also served as an Artist-in-Residence with the Commission. In addition, he is a past participant in the Hurston-Wright Writers Week Workshop and is the recipient of a fellowship from the Callaloo Writers Workshop.

In addition to writing, Ran is a songwriter and music publisher with ASCAP and 1/2 of the electronic soul production team Groovault. Groovault released The Liquid Dream EP in 2011 and continues to work with a variety of up-and-coming artists. When Ran is not writing books or composing music, he is working on his iPhoneography and storytelling skills.

Ran is an Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Hampton University and lives in Virginia with his wife and much better half, Lauren, and his amazing little rockstar daughter, Zoë.

Reviews

[Scott Semegran · Rating 5 out of 5]

The World Is Yours: Microfictions is Ran Walker's twentieth book. A prolific, award-winning writer who champions this form of literature, micro fiction offers the reader an opportunity to envision a literary world steeped in economic word counts. Can a story be told in less than 500 words? How about less than 100 words? How about 50?! It’s a challenge Walker tackles heartily and mostly succeeds in with this book. When Walker offers characters within an intriguing setup, his miniature stories shine and create a world with few but skilled brush strokes. Familial and romantic relationships are explored. The meanings in life’s little moments for his characters are ruminated upon. When his stories fill most of their single page, they fly into the imagination and bloom; you can envision the full story and where it goes. Some highlights: Buckroe, The Other Side of the Bed, and Eclipse of the Heart.

But the offerings that are only a sentence or two feel more like musings than stories, teetering Walker’s concept of “dope third-person omniscient,” an all-knowing narrator who speaks colloquially rather than formally. Without characters, they aren’t as fulfilling and simply just observations. Thankfully, these musings are few, leaving room for his more verbose and intriguing stories. If I had one real quibble, it’s that I wish the book were longer, giving the reader an opportunity to live in this world of micro stories for a much longer reading session. But if Walker’s intent was to entice me to buy more of his books of micro fiction and ponder what exactly constitutes a story, then mission accomplished.

I highly recommend this book. I would give it 4.5 stars out of 5.

[Linden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hesitated to give a rating to this book at all since it's an indie title with few reviews and my two stars therefore carry outsized weight. (I use goodreads more like record-keeping for myself about my reading than with a public- or author-focused reviewing intention.) I just think I'm not the reader for this book--I'm not a "micro" person. I picked this book up knowing that I haven't liked microfiction I've read in the past, but figuring I'd give it another try. There were a few real gems in here that I loved, but mostly I found myself thinking that each of these was a good story premise, and I wished the actual story had been written... But obviously that's not what the author was going for, and that's fine. So like I said, I'm just not the right reader for this. If you're into or interested in trying out microfiction, don't let my two-star rating change your interest in this book.

[vivienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing style had me hook, line, sinker and I have no regrets. I flew past this book and it's short stories, invested and hungry to keep reading, keep moving on to the next one. I love its voice and how this book talks, its casualness mixed in prose that left me wanting more. I felt the stories were at the perfect length it needed to be told. Overall, really enjoyed this and I'm glad I took a chance to pick this up!

[Jed Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read "microfiction" before. I like it! I want to read more. It's sort of poetry in the word economy, sort of short story in the character/plot development, sort of stand up in the set up/punch structure. It is a perfect book to download on your phone because it sort of reads like tweets.

[Kojo Baffoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I continue to marvel at how Ran Walker can say so much in so few words.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh my goodness...Ran has the gift of telling it all in just a few words