Environmentalist Leslie T. Sharpe writes with imagery and deep connection to the delicate ecosystem [of the Catskills].
An intimate portrait . . . Sharpe’s prose is firmly rooted in the rhythms of this particular place. Although her book is ostensibly about the animals with which she shares her patch of forest—the quarry fox of the title, for example—Sharpe is at her best when she’s writing about the subtle changes in season visible only to those who have practiced years of close observation. . . . The Quarry Fox also enlivens the landscape, imbuing the humble hills and streams of Sharpe’s backyard with wonder and awe.
Lovely . . . if you need a break like I do from politics occasionally, take my advice. Open up this book and reconnect to what really matters.
WCNY Capitol Pressroom - Susan Arbetter
In stunning prose, Sharpe illumines the lives of the creatures who inhabit the Catskills, spinning a tale of the web of life and our relationship to it. It’s a treat not to be missed.
Writer’s Voice “Summer Reading Pick” - Francesca Rheannon
"A poignant and modern reminder of untamed creatures so close to home."
The New York Times - Sam Roberts
Sharpe possesses serious writing chops when simply taking a snapshot of the world around her. Her prose is rooted in place like a hemlock clings to an old blue Catskills' mountainside.
I adore this book, and I adore [Leslie Sharpe’s] work.
“The Roundtable,” WAMC Northeast Public Radio - Joe Donahue
The Quarry Fox is an amazing work, as much a clarion call announcing a quietly strong new voice in nonfiction writing and reflection as a key work about this unique region. Sharpe is a methodical observer, a careful walker of woods, a strong memoirist of all she encounters. Moreover, she is a keen analyst of the world around her, mixing a steady, patient eye for how things are with both a scientist’s love for solid research and a theologian, or maybe an alchemist’s way of getting at often unseen truths. . . . Stories unfold the way a forest does when walking through it . . . A gentle, thoughtful book . . . as radiant as a wild forest.
To enter Leslie T. Sharpe’s narrative world is to consent to view the Catskills ecosystem through a lens of wonder and attention to modest detail . . . Sharpe demonstrates an impressive capacity to transmit her visceral awe to the reader. Her subjects are varied, but all inspire lyrical language. . . . Those without prior knowledge of the region will learn much; those who are more familiar may enjoy the recognition Sharpe’s prose inspires, how a vignette might trigger their own fond memories.
Sharpe’s passion is heartwarming, but more importantly, it engenders a deep sense of regard for the future of these creatures and the often precarious wilderness they inhabit. What earns this book its place alongside those of John Burroughs, Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, and Annie Dillard are Sharpe’s elegant meditations on the interconnectedness of humans and the natural world.
"A poignant and modern reminder of untamed creatures so close to home."—Sam Roberts , The New York Times USA Toda The Quarry Fox also enlivens the landscape, imbuing the humble hills and streams of Sharpe’s backyard with wonder and awe.”—Sierra Magazine Guernica The Literary Review The Quarry Fox , she’s an extremely skilled noticer. It isn’t only the ‘critters’ of the Great Western Catskills who attract this scrutiny; some of the book’s best passages deal with trees and rocks, with the ways the landscape shapes the people who pay close attention to it. . . . Sharpe turns her ‘seeing eye’ on everything she encounters in The Quarry Fox . Readers who’ve never trekked the Catskills will feel as though they have—and in the best company, too.”—Open Letters Monthly Library Journal (starred review) Joe Donahue , “The Roundtable,” WAMC Northeast Public Radio Francesca Rheannon , Writer’s Voice “Summer Reading Pick” Susan Arbetter , WCNY Capitol Pressroom The Quarry Fox is an amazing work, as much a clarion call announcing a quietly strong new voice in nonfiction writing and reflection as a key work about this unique region. Sharpe is a methodical observer, a careful walker of woods, a strong memoirist of all she encounters. Moreover, she is a keen analyst of the world around her, mixing a steady, patient eye for how things are with both a scientist’s love for solid research and a theologian, or maybe an alchemist’s way of getting at often unseen truths. . . . Stories unfold the way a forest does when walking through it . . . A gentle, thoughtful book . . . as radiant as a wild forest.”—The Woodstock Times Chronogram
The Quarry Fox is to be savored. It’s to be treasured and re-read again and again. Sharpe opened a whole world to me, the world of a naturalist.”
ReadingThe Quarry Fox , I was transported to the East Coast's beautiful hardwood forests—and I couldn't imagine a more observant, knowledgeable and sensitive guide. In the guise of richly knowledgeable natural history,The Quarry Fox is a love letter to a place. This book is antidote to our modern, harried lives. It will make you slow down and pay more attention to the places that you love. In its pages, Sharpe sees what so few of us see: the black bear sow and cubs hibernating under a fallen tree, a palm-size luna moth, a porcupine gnawing the deck boards. Herbook shows us that to know a place is to pay attention to it. And by paying attention we become fully alive. John Burroughs would be proud.”
A skyful of stars forTheQuarry Fox ! Leslie T. Sharpe’s rich descriptions of nature—especially birds—are so intoxicating, they’re probably illegal in most states. She is patientlyrelentless in her pursuit of curious facts about animal behavior, and her closeobservations of the critters around her cabin in the Catskills richly rewardclosereading.”
In prose as clear and sinuous as the mountain brook she rescues from a bog and aswise-eyed as her quarry fox and black bear, Leslie Sharpe has written a truly classicmemoir of her life in the still wild Catskill
The Quarry Fox and Other Critters of the Wild Catskills is a transcendental walk through a halcyon habitat, a soulful education on a delightful collection of species through Leslie Sharpe’s joyful storytelling.”
Carefully observed, beautifully written, and delivered in the voice of someone who is talking to us about love.
Leslie T. Sharpe has stepped into Mr. Burroughs' shoes and writes with his precision and poetry.
A study of Catskill wildlife,The Quarry Fox . . .focuses on the life and lore of the storied mountains and the creatures that inhabit them.”
Sharpe invites readers to conjure the Great Western Catskills through her eyes . . . Sharpe embraces the beauty of this land and its wildlife [and] her enthusiasm infuses her holistic observations.
Not everyone is lucky enough to live on top of a mountain, overlooking a meadow full of wildflowers. But reading naturalist Leslie T. Sharpe’s reflection on life in the western Catskills might be the next best thing. Her snapshots of local wilderness—from a luna moth on the screen door to a bear and her cubs settling into hibernation—are vivid and soothing.
It only took me a few pages of reading in Leslie Sharpe’sThe Quarry Fox and Other Critters of the Wild Catskills to find myself wondering if I wasn’t in fact reading a long-lost essay bythesage of the Catskills himself, John Burroughs. Perhaps it’s something about the region that produces a rich,deeplyperspicacious style of writingstyle—a stylethat both Burroughs and Sharpe share.”
Johannes E. Riutta - The Well-Read Naturalist
An ideal companion for anyone who enjoys reading about the simple joys of observing the living natural world around them. . . . It is also a great reference, providing much information on the habits and lives of the animals of the Catskill region.
Close natural descriptions by a well-educated ex-city person . . . Author Leslie T. Sharpe is a poster person for reclaiming nature for nature's sake.
Geddy Sveikauskas - Hudson Valley One
The Quarry Fox is an amazing work, as much a clarion call announcing a quietly strong new voice in nonfiction writing and reflection as a key work about this unique region. Sharpe is a methodical observer, a careful walker of woods, a strong memoirist of all she encounters. Moreover, she is a keen analyst of the world around her, mixing a steady, patient eye for how thingsarewith both a scientist’s love for solid research and a theologian, or maybe an alchemist’s way of getting at often unseen truths. . . . Stories unfold the way a forest does when walking through it . . . Agentle, thoughtful book . . . as radiant as a wild forest.”
Paul Smart - The Woodstock Times
I adore this book, and I adore [Leslie Sharpe's] work.
Joe Donahue - WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Lovely . . . if you need a break like I do from politics occasionally, take my advice. Open up this book and reconnect to what really matters.
Susan Arbetter - WCNY Capitol Pressroom
To enter Leslie T. Sharpe’s narrative world is to consent to view the Catskills ecosystem through a lens of wonder and attention to modest detail . ..Considering herself a steward of the land and its fellow inhabitants, she invites readers to share in her intimate wonder . . .Sharpe demonstrates an impressive capacity to transmit her visceral awe to the reader. Her subjects are varied, but all inspire lyrical language. Illustrations of various 'critters' delight the eye throughout the text, and scientific and historical tidbits are sprinkled throughout. Sharpe deftly weaves biological knowledge into her sensory impressions, inviting the audience to discover along with her . . . Those without prior knowledge of the region will learn much; those who are more familiar may enjoy the recognition Sharpe’s prose inspires, how a vignette might trigger their own fond memories.
Rachel Sona Reed - The Literary Review
Pleasure derived from nature—and how pleasure can prompt stewardship—permeatesTheQuarryFox . . . . Sharpe's passion is heartwarming, but more importantly, it engenders a deep sense of regard for the future of these creatures and the often precarious wilderness they inhabit. What earns this book its place alongside those of John Burroughs, Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, and Annie Dillard are Sharpe's elegant meditations on the interconnectedness of humans and the natural world.”
Daniela Petrova - Guernica
An intimate portrait . . .Sharpe's prose is firmly rooted in the rhythms of this particular place. Although her book is ostensibly about the animals with which she shares her patch of forest—the quarry fox of the title, for example—Sharpe is at her best when she's writing about the subtle changes in season visible only to those who have practiced years of close observation. . . .The Quarry Fox also enlivens the landscape, imbuing the humble hills and streams of Sharpe's backyard with wonder and awe.”
Adam Federman - Sierra Magazine
Environmentalist Leslie T. Sharpe writes . . . with imagery and deep connection to the delicate ecosystem [of the Catskills].
The Quarry Fox is replete with fascinating and endearing creatures: dancing woodcocks, luna moths, baby black bears, hibernating woodchucks and, of course, the quarry fox of the title. But the most captivating of the large cast of characters is the book’s author herself, curious, adventurous and passionately in love with the natural world. She is not only enamored of a great variety of mammals, insects, frogs, fish and birds. This is one of the rare humans who have preferential feelings for the mineral and vegetable worlds as well as our animal one. "'Old Blue,' my favorite snag of rock,” she writes fondly of a sandstone boulder. And she rhapsodizes about a Black Walnut tree: “In fall, I love how its fernlike leaves turn bright yellow, contrasting with the rich dark brown of its rugged bark.”
Apoignant and modern reminder of untamed creatures so close to home.
Sam Roberts - The New York Times
