The Compound

Description

‘Love Island meets Lord of the Flies – dark, thrilling, and delightfully twisted’ LOUISE O'NEILL'So gripping and propulsive that it beats reality tv at its own game. Why watch TV when Aisling Rawle does it better?' TORREY PETERS'A clever and delicious treat' ZAKIYA DALILA HARRIS'Page-turning, nail-biting… utterly bingeable' OLIVIA GATWOOD ‘In the morning, the boys still had not arrived, and we started to worry.’Lily wakes up in a compound in the middle of the desert, along with nine other women. All young, all beautiful, all keen to escape the grinding poverty, political unrest and environmental catastrophe of the outside world. Cameras track their every move, broadcasting to millions of reality TV fans.Soon, ten men will arrive on foot – if they all survive the journey. By sundown on their first day together, each contestant must have chosen a bedmate of the opposite sex or risk immediate banishment. Tasks must be completed, and rewards won – group prizes to make the Compound habitable, and personal items – makeup, clothes, champagne – to make the residents more desirable to each other.As the stakes rise, along with hunger and ambition, the true nature of each resident is revealed, and Lily finds it hard to distinguish between desire and desperation, friendship and bitter rivalry. If she makes it to the end she will win prizes beyond her wildest imaginings – but with the show’s producers seemingly inclined to turn a blind eye to violence and intimidation within the group in order to keep ratings high, is it worth it?LOVE ISLAND meets LORD OF THE FLIES in this explosive, addictive debut novel, as bingeable as the best reality TV, with dark undercurrents of literary dystopia and consumerist satire.

Promotion info

An utterly propulsive, gripping new dystopian novel for fans of THE GIRLS and LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND

Reviews

'Lord of the Flies meets Love Island - dark, thrilling, and delightfully twisted' LOUISE O'NEILL

'A debut so gripping and propulsive that it beats reality tv at its own game. Why watch TV when Aisling Rawle does it better?' TORREY PETERS

'THIS is the book to read this summer. Exceptional, I was riveted from the first page and couldn't put it down. Easily one of my favourite novels I've read this year... 10 out of 10' CECELIA AHERN

'As addictive as the shows it satirises, and so relentlessly gripping that its cleverness sneaks up on you... You'll be petitioning Rawle for another season' ABIGAIL DEAN

'A fresh, original debut, searing in its interrogation of modern life, utterly engrossing, everyone should read it. I loved it' ANDREA MARA

'A clever and delicious treat that's even more addictive than the reality television it lambasts... I dare you not to tear through The Compound at lightning speed' ZAKIYA DALILA HARRIS

'In The Compound, Rawle has built an eerily familiar yet unparalleled landscape-one that expertly juggles the most gruesome and tender human traits-with page-turning, nail-biting force. Just like the reality shows we all can't stop watching, this book is utterly bingeable' OLIVIA GATWOOD

'I couldn't put The Compound down - it is that rare combination of propulsive and brilliant. I read it in one big gulp and then brought it up at two different dinners to talk about its mix of gender dynamics, capitalism, and power' MEGAN GIDDINGS

'The Compound is a blistering takedown of reality TV in our capitalist world, where the gamification of love and power is sold as entertainment. Aisling Rawle masterfully ratchets up the stakes in this sinister and juicy read until the line between paradise and dystopia becomes dangerously blurred' MICHELLE MIN STERLING

'Addictive... 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' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Author description

Aisling Rawle is an ex-bookseller from Leitrim in the West of Ireland, and now works as a secondary-school English and music teacher in Dublin. THE COMPOUND is her first novel.