Reader
asked:
Has anyone read both She Said by Kantor and Twohey and Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow? Do you think they are mutually exclusive (that is, if you’ve read one you needn’t necessarily read the other)? Or do they cover sufficiently different ground so as to make reading both worthwhile?
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She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement,
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Christine (Queen of Books)
I have. I think the books work well together, but are different enough to warrant reading both.
To me, She Said is about women - about Kantor and Twohey reaching out to them, encouraging them to tell their stories, and then them ultimately coming together and doing just that. Catch and Kill, I think, is more about power and influence with respect to news - what allows predators to continue their behavior? In that sense I think the titles do a great job of giving you an idea as to the focus of the books. Hope this helps.
To me, She Said is about women - about Kantor and Twohey reaching out to them, encouraging them to tell their stories, and then them ultimately coming together and doing just that. Catch and Kill, I think, is more about power and influence with respect to news - what allows predators to continue their behavior? In that sense I think the titles do a great job of giving you an idea as to the focus of the books. Hope this helps.
Meagan (she/her)
I agree with Christine. They have similar content, but the actual stories involved are quite different. I just finished reading them back to back and I feel that there was limited duplication between the two books.
Jennifer
I highly recommend you to read them both. "She Said" is a narrative of the grueling work of being a reporter and the book makes the most vivid case I've seen in a long time for the need to support the work of journalists and subscribe to newspapers. "Catch and Kill" exposes the dangers of letting too much corporate influence get near the work of independent journalism. I was interested to see the contrast between how hard Twohey and Kantor had to work to get sources to trust them, whereas Farrow was able to line up sources more easily (I assume because he was a known entity to many in Hollywood). Conversely, Twohey and Kantor had the full support of their editors, whereas Farrow had to navigate a barrage of roadblocks from inside NBC. The books are different enough to warrant reading both. And fortunately they are similar in the best way possible--the reporters stuck with the story, despite enormous risks to their safety, and exposed the truth.
C
I think they tell very different stories but I did find Catch and Kill more compelling - the personal narrative was so fascinating to me and I thought Ronan Farrow's personality came through in such a pronounced way.
Melissa Gerson
I just finished Farrow's book. While I agree he is a great investigative journalist...his writing still has a way to go. "She Said" moved me at my core and left me speechless. It's much more than Weinstein...it's about the #MeToo movement. I found it more female-centric while "Catch and Kill" was told from someone of privilege and quite frankly inexperience. I appreciate that Ronan Farrow went through a lot of hardships growing up in the public eye, but I don't think he encapsulated what it's like working as a woman in the entertainment industry.
Makaiah
I read Catch and Kill first, which was really engrossing and read more like a mystery novel than nonfiction. It focused on the axis of power and I think made a very compelling case for why the systems of NDA's and surveillance keep predators in power. I came to She Said later and was similarly worried that the content would repeat. But apart from a slight overlap on NDA's, I found the writing, characters, and message entirely different. She Said focused on how women are trapped within that axis of power and how they may escape it. Both are fantastic reads and complement each other well!
Erin
I finished C&K recently and am almost done with She Said. The perspectives are very different, and so are their journeys as reporters. I think they are great complements to one another.
Mohammad Yazdani
please describe more.
Angela
I think Christine is correct. Both worth the read and then maybe you will need to read some humor.
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