the "columbia journalism review" called leonard "our primary progressive, catholic [small "c"] literary critic." stylistically, he was, as "cjr" dubbed him, an "enthusiast," known for his wit and wordplay, his liberal use of the semicolon and his impassioned examinations of authors and their works. he wrote definitive career essays on the work of writers ranging from thomas pynchon and joan didion to eduardo galeano, salman rushdie, don delillo, mary gordon, john cheever, toni morrison and richard powers.