Paul Horgan's early writing is primarily short fiction and is significant for its sharp characterization and luminous style. As John Barkham indicated in the New York Post (29 September 1970): "Time, place, and character are all recalled by an acutely sensitive mind. His sensibilities are those of a generation that valued elegance, symmetry, and morality." Some of his short stories are still among the finest in American letters, as they exceed their southwestern settings to become universal in appeal.

His major themes are as versatile as his style. Although he is a Catholic writer and southwestern regionalist, the themes of human relationships often in conflict with each other are expressions of deep emotional feeling that far exceed the confinements of any one religion or region. Perhaps his most memorable stories are those which, though not focused on death as a theme, revolve around death and the effects it has on...