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lastyearsgirl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
alissamk's review against another edition
5.0
An achievement in investigative journalism and a fascinating and shocking look into just how much risk is involved in taking down the wealthy and powerful.
bexlrose's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely one of the most important books I've read this year, though certainly a tough one to read in places. It's about sexual predators in Hollywood and how the powerful ones get away with it because the media buys the rights to the story and kills it. Through pay-offs and non-disclosure agreements, the women's stories never get told, and the ones who do manage to tell their stories get discredited and slandered.
A lot of this book focuses on Harvey Weinstein and the struggle Ronan Farrow had to break the story at NBC, eventually being fired for his efforts by people trying to cover for Weinstein.
A cracker of a book and a seriously important message. 5 stars.
A lot of this book focuses on Harvey Weinstein and the struggle Ronan Farrow had to break the story at NBC, eventually being fired for his efforts by people trying to cover for Weinstein.
A cracker of a book and a seriously important message. 5 stars.
juliereading's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. The network of powerful creeps and creep enablers. This book made me feel so gross, and yet so fascinated and riled up. I don't think this is an original sentiment, but this book got me thinking about the philosophy that no one is irreplaceable: if you're the very best ever at what you do, but you're an asshole - you're replaceable. (And frankly... there's probably someone who could do what you do as well or better, while not abusing and assaulting people, so... bye.)
jsmileysad's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
4.25
Ronan is incredibly talented in storytelling and also weighing different perspectives. I learned so much, and he captured the horrors so well, incredibly depressing but outlines a bit of a triumph of empowering women.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Violence
cassidyserhienko's review against another edition
5.0
This book is essential reading. Even if you closely followed the Harvey Weinstein story as it broke and Ronan Farrow’s own reporting you do not know the whole story. Catch and Kill is at once enraging, sad, and inspiring. Enraging and sad because of the viciousness and entitlement of men like Weinstein and Lauer, the culture of silence they created, and the apathy or dismissal from those who allowed or helped it happen. Inspiring because of the courage, resilience, and compassion of women, the support of their families and partners, and the dedication of reporters like Farrow who tread on despite the immense roadblocks placed in their path by predators and the ones who cover for them.
They aren’t lying when they say that Catch and Kill reads like a spy novel. For the majority of us who do not live in a world where private investigators are hired to follow, intimidate, and manipulate our supposed enemies, the measures that Weinstein and those around him went to to protect decades of systematic predation and abuse is shocking and alarming. Farrow does not need to be a master storyteller to keep you riveted and invested, though he is. He knows exactly how to interject his own voice, humour, struggles, and concerns and then fade away to let the women he worked with tell their own stories and claim their own space.
It would be hard to describe this book as hopeful, even though it ends with the exposure and downfall of criminals and predators. Catch and Kill exposes how power and access often allow corruption to build and build and build until it seems colossal and untouchable. But it also shows how the voices of women, helped by a reporter like Farrow, can break it until it all comes crumbling down.
“In the end, the courage of women can’t be stamped out. And stories — the big ones, the true ones — can be caught but never killed.”
They aren’t lying when they say that Catch and Kill reads like a spy novel. For the majority of us who do not live in a world where private investigators are hired to follow, intimidate, and manipulate our supposed enemies, the measures that Weinstein and those around him went to to protect decades of systematic predation and abuse is shocking and alarming. Farrow does not need to be a master storyteller to keep you riveted and invested, though he is. He knows exactly how to interject his own voice, humour, struggles, and concerns and then fade away to let the women he worked with tell their own stories and claim their own space.
It would be hard to describe this book as hopeful, even though it ends with the exposure and downfall of criminals and predators. Catch and Kill exposes how power and access often allow corruption to build and build and build until it seems colossal and untouchable. But it also shows how the voices of women, helped by a reporter like Farrow, can break it until it all comes crumbling down.
“In the end, the courage of women can’t be stamped out. And stories — the big ones, the true ones — can be caught but never killed.”
beckeal's review against another edition
5.0
So I thought this was going to be all about the story, and the writing would just be a flavourless conveyor of the narrative, but it was super well done! Farrow’s writing style is smooth and suspense-y and sympathetic in all the right ways. Must admit there were some kinda corny bits, and he takes pains to paint all the right people with just the right brush (including himself) in a way that alllmost undermines the credibility here and there, but not quite. So still, 5 stars.
Also, I ‘read’ this on audiobook, and I wasn’t excited to read that he did the voice work himself, but darned if he wasn’t awesome at it. So I was doubly surprised by how impressively and expressively he narrates his own work! Better than a lot of ‘talent’ specifically paid for the service??
A super engaging read for sure.
Also, I ‘read’ this on audiobook, and I wasn’t excited to read that he did the voice work himself, but darned if he wasn’t awesome at it. So I was doubly surprised by how impressively and expressively he narrates his own work! Better than a lot of ‘talent’ specifically paid for the service??
A super engaging read for sure.
jenmangler's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating read about the frustrating systems that protect powerful men from the consequences of their actions.