Love & Other Scams PUTNAM
1. Love & Other Scams offers up grandeur in the form of a big wedding and its imposing havoc. Discuss whether you noticed any silent signs of chaos surrounding Louisa’s wedding, outside of Cat and Jake’s involvement. In what ways can disorder and elaborateness go hand in hand? Given the multiple events Cat mentions having attended at the start of the novel, do you think such repetition can cause even the most lavish of weddings to lose its spark?
2. Cat is a big lover of the visual arts. How does the splendor of art contrast or align with her approach to life? How do you think her passion for art plays a part in, if at all, her reactions to fine experiences like the trip to picturesque Palermo, wearing rich textiles, and attending the wondrous boat event?
3. Cat’s hobby lifting wallets means she’s no stranger to scheming. Discuss the range of feelings you might experience if you were to steal from someone. Which of these emotions would you expect to overlap with Cat’s? For Cat, which impulse prevails?
4. Cat and Louisa have known each other since their college days. Despite their different backgrounds, why were they both drawn to each other? How does Cat’s feelings about Louisa when she first imagines the heist differ from when they first met? How does this progress when she and Louisa have a quiet moment on the balcony in Palermo? What about at the wedding itself?
5. To pull off such a scheme, one needs the strength of acute observation. Do you think Cat is observant? Or do you think she tends to see what she wants to see? What do you notice about Jake’s powers of perception in contrast to Cat’s?
6. Author Philip Ellis subtly pokes fun at the lifestyle of the wealthy. What “posh” trait stood out to you as the most bizarre? Which did you find yourself surprisingly relating to? Who in the story is the greatest caricature of the upper classes? Discuss.
7. Louisa’s bridal party includes a range of personalities. Of all her bridesmaids, who would you connect with most and why? How would you have handled Louisa’s “bride mode”? Have you ever been a bridesmaid? What did you consider the most important duty?
8. Discuss the theme of authenticity and inauthenticity in Love & Other Scams. Who do you consider the most true-to-themselves character? The least?
9. Cat and Jake’s Bond-esque endeavor unavoidably requires deceit and manipulation. Despite playing for the same team, how does this context impact their trust of each other? What role does meeting each other’s friends and family play in how they understand each other?
10. The role of mothers in this story is significant to our understanding of Cat and Jake. Describe the various ways in which author Philip Ellis illustrates a mother’s impact. To what extent can we attribute Cat and Jake’s compatibility to respective upbringings?
11. Cat and Jake discuss how they’ll use their earnings from the heist. How would you split three million pounds, and what would you spend your portion on? Who would be your partner in crime?