Book Review: Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow
by Ronan Farrow
4****
“Ultimately, the reason Harvey Weinstein followed the route he did is because he was allowed to, and that’s our fault. As a culture that’s our fault.”
― Ronan Farrow, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators
Though I found She Said by Jodi Cantor and Megan Twohey to be somewhat more compelling, with a more journalistic slant, Catch and Kill was a very interesting and sadly intriguing read. While the story Farrow tells is not new and has been out in the world for quite some time, it still had the power to deeply unsettle and disturb me. He writes of powerful men abusing women and getting away with it again and again, focusing in particular on Harvey Weinstein and to a slightly lesser degree, Donald Trump, all the while keeping the story of abuse his own sister alleges against their father a phantom in the background. Following the revelations of abuse in Hollywood, came the Me Too movement, granting women beyond that gilded sphere the courage to come forth with their stories of abuse and harassment, shame and fear. It seemed for the first time, many men became aware of what women face all the time; of the way we have to think about what we wear so we don't send the wrong message; how we walk faster at night, clutching our key, a makeshift weapon, because that guy is walking behind us; of the way we speak, which could be misconstrued as flirtation, asking for unwanted attention...on and on the list could go. It is late for this revelation, but it is and was necessary, and for the part Farrow and his journalism played in helping bring it about, I give him credit.
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