The Compound
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3.8 • 8 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
** A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK **
‘Relentlessly gripping’ ABIGAIL DEAN
‘Menace-dipped’ THE TIMES
‘Thrilling and haunting’ NEW YORK TIMES
'Lord of the Flies meets Love Island’ LOUISE O’NEILL
‘Gripping and propulsive’ TORREY PETERS
‘THIS is the book to read this summer’ CECELIA AHERN
'Brilliant’ DAILY MIRROR
‘Written with total verve and delight’ STYLIST
You wake up in a compound in the middle of the desert, with nine other women.
All of you are young, beautiful, and keen to escape the catastrophe of the outside world.
Cameras broadcast your every move to millions of reality TV fans.
Soon, ten men will arrive on foot – if they survive the journey.
What will you do to win?
And what happens to the losers?
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READERS ARE GRIPPED
‘Ok I seriously loved this. The story is so addictive. There are sudden twists, simmering uneasiness and a wholly fitting ending that has stayed with me since I finished reading it’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Deliciously dark, this was a real page turner that I couldn't wait to get back to each night' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘There aren't many books that I would want to read twice, but this is one of them' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A fun beach read, perfect for the summer' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I absolutely inhaled this. What a read. Materialism, wealth, love… Wow. So original and well written' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
About the author
Aisling Rawle is an ex-bookseller from Leitrim in the West of Ireland, where she wrote The Compound, her dark reality TV satire and debut novel. Aisling currently lives in Dublin.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rawle debuts with an addictive tale of a fiercely competitive and increasingly dangerous reality TV show. It's narrated by Lily, a beautiful 20-something contestant lured by the promise of luxury consumer goods and hot men. In the beginning, she and the show's nine other women await the arrival of the 10 male cast members at a beautiful but unfurnished desert compound. Only nine arrive—while the women were shuttled there by the producers, the men have been trekking for miles across the desert—leaving the women at a disadvantage in the show's dating challenge (each day, a contestant is sent home if they haven't managed to spend the night with a member of the other gender). The gender split is kept unbalanced as cast members participate in competitions and tasks for rewards such as a coveted hair straightener. As Lily sees other cast members dismissed, some of whom she mistook for friends, she strives to be the last one standing, even at the risk of betraying the one man she feels a genuine connection with. Rawle's fast-paced plotting keeps the reader turning pages, as does Lily's intriguing character development. This portrait of a vapid world contains remarkable depth.
