Boyle is known for his short fiction. As Denis Hennessy notes in his 1999 entry on Boyle for Dictionary of Literary Biography, "Boyle has built his career as a short-story writer on stylistic innovations and inventive subject matter, always displaying his respect for the power of short fiction to entertain." Yet, for all of the critical acclaim he has received for his short stories, not many scholars have commented on "The Underground Gardens" or, for that matter, the collection in which it was included, After the Plague.

Those who have reviewed the book, however, have given it high marks. In his 2001 review of the book for Library Journal, David W. Henderson calls the stories "wickedly ironic, sometimes poignant, sometimes darkly humorous tales that speak directly to the human condition and to a variety of contemporary social issues."Henderson also notes that the book "is classic Boyle, a...