Name: The Compound
Rating: 3.961538461538462 (26 reviews)
ISBN: 9780008710101

Aisling Rawle

** A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK ** ‘Lord of the Flies meets Love Island – 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 'THIS is the book to read this summer... 10 out of 10' CECELIA AHERN

The Compound

Lindsay

I’ve always been a passive kind of person; it is both my worst quality and the thing that people like most about me.

Intelligence can be artificial, but charm is always real

Possibly the rule of finding someone to pair up with had been intended as a way to offset the selfishness of pursuing rewards, but as I lay there, looking at the boys around me, the rule only felt like a cruel exaggeration of our ideas of desire and desirability.

They didn’t know beauty, these boys. They saw blurred outlines and thought they knew the picture.

You wake up in a compound in the middle of the desert, along with nine other women.

All of you are young, all beautiful, all keen to escape the grinding poverty, political unrest and environmental catastrophe of the outside world.

You realise that cameras are tracking your every move, broadcasting to millions of reality TV fans.

Soon, ten men will arrive on foot – if they all survive the journey.

What will you have to do to win?

And what happens to the losers?

A slightly underwhelming ending but a very strong book overall and I love a book with no clear best character.

Soph

As a fan of the early days of The Bachelor, when the main focus was finding love, and now an influencer playground where controversial or sleazy attitudes get a spotlight and fame, I find the story engrossing. With a small hint of the outside world, perpetual war and a capitalist society. The kind of entertainment that can democratize how we treat other human beings through their little screens. A world people like Mr. Beast would create, and a platform Netflix would be proud to build.

The Compound feels more like an immediate present world than a dystopian future.

Nate

As a fan of the early days of The Bachelor, when the main focus was finding love, and now an influencer playground where controversial or sleazy attitudes get a spotlight and fame, I find the story engrossing. With a small hint of the outside world, perpetual war and a capitalist society. The kind of entertainment that can democratize how we treat other human beings through their little screens. A world people like Mr. Beast would create, and a platform Netflix would be proud to build.

The Compound feels more like an immediate present world than a dystopian future.



Seo L

An intriguing premise that blends Love Island with Lord of the Flies, though the mysterious opening doesn't quite deliver the psychological tension I expected. I found it difficult to connect with the FMC.

so good, it felt like i was watching the show. compelling from start to finish.

jacq bridge

amy jacobowitz

ashley

Went into this knowing next to nothing about it and ended up loving it. I felt completely gripped throughout and equally unsettled. Really interesting premise!

The Compound

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