Review by everydaychemistry17 - SCAMMER

everydaychemistry17 's review for:

SCAMMER by Caroline Calloway

3.5

dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Every so often I get the itch to read some “trashy” written literature by people who you need to question whether or not they’re morally bankrupt people. Sometimes it’s nice to just read some lighthearted if not mildly narcissistic memoir by some nepo baby, celebrity, or in this case, some “influencer”.

I’m not going to lie, I went into this with low expectations and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The writing itself isn’t that great, and while Caroline does have the capability of being a decent writer, it’s clear that she has a ways to go to meet those goals.

As others have mentioned, she needs an editor and this felt more like a blog than a memoir, and since she’s a well-known liar, who to say how much of what’s in this book is true? I mean, Caroline herself even admits to lying in her book plenty of times!

Overall, Caroline, while very generally unlikable on the surface. She has repeatedly scammed her followers through her overpriced “art”, refuses to take any actual responsibility for her actions, has some serious histrionic and narcissistic tendencies, and always manages to find a way to make something about herself (the perfect example of this would be her reaction to Natalie Beach’s essay about her in The Cut), and is a known liar.

BUT

Below the surface, I find her to be… interesting.

She certainly suffers a lot mentally and this could explain some of her actions, while still not excusing them. But something about her just seemed very interesting to me. Maybe it’s because she tries to make herself an enigma through living vicariously through this persona she’s made up about herself, using herself.

As someone else put it, at times it feels like she disguises her old-money aspirations for intellectualism.

But at the same time, we all can see at least a little bit of ourselves in Caroline. She’s ambitious, self-mythologizing, precocious, delusional, and literary.

In some weird way, she inspired me to once again aspire, expect, and feel the urge to take what I want after a year and a half mental block due to a toxic work environment. But I digress.

I will give Caroline this, she sees, she wants, and she aspires to get it. I mean, who else would apply to Cambridge University, three times by falsifying her academic credentials?

While morally bankrupt, you at least need to give her some props for being ballsy enough to do it.

Content Warnings