Catch and Kill

Ronan Farrow has a famous family name, but his claim to fame is being a meticulous researcher in search of serious stories.  In this book, he reveals that he does the research, but the narrative itself is not very interesting. Reading Catch and Kill is sort of like going through someone's work folder of miscellaneous facts, people, places, and things.  Several times I was tempted to just put it down and forget it, but I was determined to see it through to the end--and it took every ounce of my determination to do that.

Yes, there's a lot of fact-checking, and double-checking, and then going back and making sure everything is correct.  He wants the reader to know that he didn't make up anything for the book to sell better, but I think it would sell better if it were half the length it ends up to be.  Endless accounts of who you met/talked to, what was said, how it was fact-checked, and where it fit into the narrative is simply tedious.  The reader needs the Cliff's Notes, not the Encyclopedia Britannica version of events.

Was Harvey Weinstein a predator? Yes. Did Matt Lauer sexually abuse women? Yes. Did other men mentioned also engage in inappropriate behavior with women? Yes. Does Ronan Farrow have the research to back up all these allegations? Yes.

End of story.