The Compound: A GMA Book Club Pick
A Novel
-
-
3.9 • 269 Ratings
-
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK
Nothing to lose. Everything to gain. Winner takes all.
“Every bit as addictive as your favorite guilty pleasure binge-watch, but with all the substance of a literary classic.”—Oprah Daily
“It’s fun to watch hot people do psychotic things in this novel. . . . Smart and provocative [and] so damn addictive.”—The New York Times Book Review
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, THE NEW YORKER, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, OPRAH DAILY, THE GLOBE AND MAIL, CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY
Lily—a bored, beautiful twenty-something—wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door.
Cameras are catching all her angles, good and bad, but Lily has no desire to leave: why would she, when the world outside is falling apart? As the competition intensifies, intimacy between the players deepens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between desire and desperation. When the unseen producers raise the stakes, forcing contestants into upsetting, even dangerous situations, the line between playing the game and surviving it begins to blur. If Lily makes it to the end, she’ll receive prizes beyond her wildest dreams—but what will she have to do to win?
Addictive and prescient, The Compound is an explosive debut from a major new voice in fiction and will linger in your mind long after the game ends.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Contestants starring on a dystopian reality TV dating show must complete tasks to be rewarded increasingly impressive prizes in this nervy thriller. Ten women wake up in the mysterious compound and await the arrival of 10 men—who hopefully survive their journey on foot. The goal? Be the last one standing to win whatever their heart desires. Antihero narrator Lily is gorgeous and knows it. Unfailingly honest, she uses her looks to get ahead as the contestants are degraded, humiliated, and violated, with their every move watched by millions. We were completely hooked by the unsettling atmosphere as the tasks become increasingly bizarre and cruel and the contestants become more desperate. This gripping literary satire offers fascinating commentary on excess, the cultural impact of reality television, and our own world’s harrowing effects on beauty standards and mental health.
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.
Customer Reviews
nothing that i expected
It was a pretty good story, with a very captivating plot however the characters were actually horrendous; granted I think that was the whole point of the book but painting reality stars as insufferable helps reinforce the stereotypes of being in the entertainment industry.
A sophomoric, low-brow bore.
We spend the entire entirety of the novel inside a not very intelligent girls head. It’s not science fiction or fantasy. It certainly doesn’t rate the attention that it’s been getting or the rave reviews. It is exactly what you think. It is hunger games crossed with love, Island boring boring, boring.
Very thought provoking
Wow!