From the November 2013 issue: " . . . SUSAN GRAHAM hosted the launch of Children and Fish Don't Talk, a memoir by LESHEK ZAVISTOVSKI, a cellist in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra from 1966 to 2002. Zavistovski's book, which recounts his life in Europe during World War II and the Cold War as well as his work in music, was written in collaboration with his daughter, filmmaker Monique Zavistovski, and his wife, Toni Rapport Zavistovski, former violinist in the Met Orchestra (1968-2002)."
If you can put down this book... well, it's not going to happen... Zavistovski... has lived a life so dangerous, thrilling, and unpredictable that he qualifies as a picaresque hero along the lines of Lazarillo de Tormes or Oliver Twist.
— James M. Keller, author, program annotator for the New York Philharmonic, and former staff writer for The New Yorker
Leshek Zavistovski's searing memoir is not just the testament of a young man's survival... it powerfully shows how Leshek transcended the extreme circumstances of his existence... a brilliantly crafted love story to the human spirit (his!).
— Bruce C. McKenna, writer, Band of Brothers; Emmy-Award-winning creator, writer, executive producer, The Pacific
His is a path of tremendous, movie-worthy, epic struggle—interspersed with hilarious episodes throughout. I was agape from the beginning to the end of this book.
— Susan Graham, internationally-renowned opera star
Leshek Zavistovski has led a remarkable life and he writes about it vividly and passionately. His survival should be the stuff of legends.
— Jerry Adler, Senior Editor, Newsweek (retired)
Children & Fish Don't Talk is excellent and polished.
— Connie Martinson, writer, host of syndicated television show Connie Martinson Talks Books
