5 Pretzels.
“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.” – Ronan Farrow
A Synopsis:
Basically, some men are hot garage and will go to extreme lengths to not own up to that fact.
A little background on the author. He is the son of actress Mia Farrow and Woody Allen. For his entire life, people have called into question his parentage, which I’m sure is exhausting. The fact that he neither seems like a huge creep nor looks like an old raisin makes me question it as well, but that’s not Ronan’s story. His story is much better and much more interesting. Ronan Farrow is a contributing writer to the New Yorker. He is the man responsible for bringing the Harvey Weinstein story to light while many, many others attempted to keep it in the dark. He originally started his reporting with NBC, but was met with obstacle after obstacle, which led to his sources becoming less and less sure about telling their stories. Rose McGowan was a huge voice behind the eventual downfall of Weinstein, but Farrow, through his tireless, and sometimes dangerous, work found many other sources. A story this big had to be told. But, unfortunately, he lost the support of NBC and it was up to the Farrow and the folks at the New Yorker to tell it.
Okay, this was a tough read for a few reasons:
- I find Harvey Weinstein disgusting. Reading the specifics can get a little gross.
- Some names I did not expect to come up came up, leaving me disappointed in a couple of people.
- It’s complicated. Really, really complicated. It is a nonfiction book that at the same time reads like a New Yorker article and a top notch espionage novel.
Catch and Kill is a complex story of lies, corruption, and a lot of familiar names, some of them surprising, others not so much (Lookin’ at you, Mr. President). It is a story of double agents and spies, of magazines buying stories only bury them to further the political careers of their friends, but also keeping those stories in a safe. Because blackmail. This story spans decades and continents. You may need a notebook or a white board to track the names and their relationships to one another.
This is a story of powerful men doing horrific things and other men lying to protect them. It’s disgusting. It is also a fascinating read from a journalistic perspective. The complexities of this story, the obstacles, the death threats, powerful people attempting to use your own father against you, it’s a lot. It would have been easy for Ronan Farrow to give up. He had a solid job with NBC. He was doing important work. He could have easily let this go like so many before him. But he didn’t. He and his sources put everything at risk to tell this story. The least we can do is read it.
And then, as a nice pallet cleanser, read a copy of Fall: An Ermahgerd Merstery for FREE!
Okay, byeeeeeeeee.
Smoky Lynx
Holland + Harper Productions 