THE BEST GOOD HORSE

A collection offers short stories that are liberally seasoned with grit and humanity.

Most of the 14 tales in Archuleta’s anthology are grounded in the beauty and intricate complexities of the human condition. Set in the mid-20th-century American West, they feature central characters who exemplify the meaning of struggle but also drive home the sanctity of pure hearts and the goodness of selfless intentions. The most heartfelt stories appear early in the collection. “A Prayer to Saint Michael” stars a kindhearted man who travels to his recently deceased brother’s Texas ranch to shore up his estate. But past and present issues cloud the protagonist’s path, including memories of his involvement in a covert operation. The entries vary wildly in length, which is a testament to Archuleta’s talent to seize readers through an economy of pages or in a more fully realized yarn. At just three pages, one of the shorter tales is a true heartbreaker. “A Very Good Question” involves the closeness of two brothers. One of the siblings, a delusional former sergeant with PTSD, believes he sees “visitations.” Elsewhere, trouble seems to find the author’s characters. The day laborer in “Following the Harvest” keeps a low profile about the crops he tends until police interrupt his trek homeward with trumped-up vagrancy charges. In the atmospheric “Last Game at Kezar,” two former Mafia hit men reunite in San Francisco. The abused yet resilient nightclub dancer in “Imperfections” fights to find a way back to Ciudad Juarez in her Mexican homeland. Several stories are drawn with such engrossing precision that readers will be left wanting more, as in the title tale focusing on John Westley Thornhill, a magnetic, seasoned ranch hand. He decides to quit his job, as his patience with a cowboy’s life has slowly been coming to a bittersweet end. Archuleta avoids easy platitudes and saccharine conclusions and instead allows readers to interpret the embedded meanings in his tales and glean the inherent economic issues and cultural difficulties of the period he sets them in. Without being overly expository or thematically simplistic, the stories present a cast of compelling characters. While the players may not always land on solid ground, they are impeccably drawn, believably passionate, and alive with emotion.

Moody, memorable tales powered by human struggle, tenacity, and an unshakeable sense of survival.