Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow
I feel that books like Catch and Kill and She Said are MUST READ for all of us. They are a reminder that certain practices and folks, that think money can buy you anything and help you get away with anything, are still to this day the norm in many industries. It shouldn’t. But it is.
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In a dramatic account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost.
In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood’s most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family.
All the while, Farrow and his producer faced a degree of resistance that could not be explained – until now. And a trail of clues revealed corruption and cover-ups from Hollywood, to Washington, and beyond.
This is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability and silence victims of abuse – and it’s the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement.
Both a spy thriller and a meticulous work of investigative journalism, Catch and Kill breaks devastating new stories about the rampant abuse of power – and sheds far-reaching light on investigations that shook the culture.
Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow
MY THOUGHTS
I’m not going to make this a long review. There are so many great reviews already available to read. Nevertheless I wanted to talk about something different that I realized while reading this book.
To begin with, I need to mention that I struggled with Catch and Kill, and didn’t understand why. Until a fellow blogger pointed me towards a possible answer.
I devoured She Said earlier this year. It’s about the same topic as Catch and Kill, was written during the same time, and covers the same events. There is really nothing majorly different between the books. Both are exceptional work of investigative journalism. And BOTH articles, which these books are based on, won the Pulitzer price.
So, then why did I love SHE SAID and struggled with CATCH AND KILL?
Someone pointed out to me that it might just all depend on which book I read first. So, if I would have read Catch and Kill first, I would have probably enjoyed it more than She Said.
I actually came across the same issue while reading The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes and The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. Guess which one I read first and LOVED?
So thinking about this, I actually feel like this might be an explanation.
But of course, there is also the fact that the writing style can make a difference too.
Ronan Farrow, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey are seasoned journalists, they all know how to write compelling journalistic pieces, but their style of writing is different. And both books were structured differently, She Said had a chronological structure, a day to day development, whereas Catch and Kill was more flowing.
So whatever it was, maybe it was all about which book I “read first“, or it was about the structure, in the end I’m super glad I finally finished Catch and Kill.
Interesting fact!
Ronan Farrow, working at NBC at the time, struggled to find support for his story. There was quite the push back, and eventually he had to go to The New Yorker to find a place that supported his investigation. It looks like the shake up at NBC, because of Ronan Farrow is still going strong.
Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey on the other hand already worked for a newspaper, The New York Times, and had support from the very beginning, no question asked.
The difference is glaringly obvious after I read both books. Ronan Farrow had by far the harder time getting his story told, which is incredibly sad.
MY RATING:
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Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow
That’s super interesting, I have both Catch and Kill and She Said on my TBR, but I’m planning to read Catch and Kill first. I’ll let you know how if my enjoyment of one affects the other 😛
I would love to hear your thoughts 😀 Since it happened now twice to me, it would be great to know if it’s just me, or if there might be something to it.
That’s actually a very good point! I also sometimes feel that my level of enjoyment towards some books is influenced because I read something similar before, and unintentionally keep comparing these books to one another.
I think it’s hard not to compare, or at least I’ve not found a way to completely compartmentalize when it comes to similar books, I unconsciously compare them if they are too similar or in this case, are written about the same topic.
I read She Said first too, but I actually liked this better… but both were such difficult reads to process… they did end up being on my favorites of 2019 list because how could they not…
They are both/either definitely must read books, and I think I really liked the way She Said was formatted, very much chronologically, every day something else happened – very similar to the news 😀
I totally get what you mean… and a woman’s perspective is also very much evident in She Said. I think I liked Catch and Kill because it read like a thriller with all the surveillance and stuff and not knowing if he’ll get to publish.. even though I knew everything turned out ok for him, there were still moments in the book where I was scared for his safety.
That’s exactly what one of the articles said, the books are written very differently and his was described as fluid, like a thriller, whereas She Said more choppy. I’m really happy they are all being recognized for their work. Since it all happened at the same time, and I also feel like he had the harder time to get it published, which I wouldn’t have known otherwise.
That’s true.. I had known about the articles and the Pulitzer but getting to know about everything they had to do in the background was a revelation and I’m glad we got to read the books..