Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow

12 reviews

librarymouse's review

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

5.0

The pacing of this book made it engaging despite the gravity of the information being discussed. Farrow is straightforward with his explanation of his own history with the issue of sexual assault, growing up in the shadow of what Woody Allen, their father, did to his sister Dylan, and the media shit storm that ensued. Intwining his own story, growing as a person and apologizing to his sister for the role he played in the covering up of her own trauma, kept this story grounded and away from the sensationalized scandalous text it could have become. In 2024, it is especially interesting and upsetting to see the intentional disruption of American news news to destroy information and skew political outcomes as done by Israel's government-backed Black Cube.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Sexism, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Stalking, Sexual content, Alcohol, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Trafficking

sonjaswanson's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

5.0

I am not a fan of non-fiction, and I loved this book. Didn’t feel like a non-fiction book at all. It was a wild ride that left my jaw on the floor.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Vomit, and Pedophilia

samarakroeger's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

4.75

I saw this book on my bookshelf today while I was packing, and on a whim checked to see if the audiobook was available on libby.  Ended up immediately listening to it without putting it down once, fully captivated in the (completely true) spy thriller pacing of the book.  The corruption and coverups run so much deeper throughout the entire political and media landscape than I ever dared think.  Ronan not only brought very important allegations of sexual misconduct into the public consciousness on behalf of silenced women, he also proceeded to lift the veil on systemic issues within NBC and other news organizations.  

Of course, five years after #metoo, I knew where the story would end up, but that did not detract from my engagement with the plot.  It is also very important for us to see how difficult it was to break the Harvey Weinstein story within NBC, the very real threats made against journalists, and how enmeshed all top execs (across industries) are in this big cabal to keep victims silenced.

I did wish Ronan Farrow did not attempt to do accents for all the quotes - they were mediocre and distracting.  He comes off as a bit self-righteous at times, but honestly, I kind of think he deserves to be.

One of the most engagingly written pieces of investigative journalism I've read.  I do read around 30% nonfiction, and Farrow wrote this in a way that I think fiction readers would not find intimidating.  To all the readers out there scared by nonfiction: pick this up.  You won't regret it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, and Self harm

ksuazo94's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Gaslighting

kveldt's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, and Physical abuse

maddiet425's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Violence, Stalking, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Incest, Alcohol, and Suicide attempt

mari_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.5

I didn’t expect to be as captivated by this book as I was. Farrow narrates this true story with incredible seriousness and attention to details. The first half of the book builds up Farrows reporting of the Weinstein story, kind of a slow burn about all the obstacles they face. The second half of the book is like an avalanche, everything comes together quickly and devastatingly sudden. It takes the breaking news items you vaguely remember from a few years ago and rebreaks them.  You realize the depth and reach of power, and how law, media and politics are tools for power. It’s uncanny how the topic of abuse of power in media/Hollywood has developed since the publishing of this book (Farrows prediction) as more worms come out of the apple. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual violence, Self harm, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Suicide

mscalls's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Vomit, Violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Medical content, Infidelity, Grief, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

missytwrites's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Man, this was good but so dark. Sometimes I had to put it down to have a cry, but it was fantastic. It is full-on, so if you find sexual assault triggering you might want to sit this one out. Or take a breather. Very good, excited to read Ronan's next book! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Misogyny

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Physical abuse, and Sexism

ancientcowboyghost's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence