Bookseller Reviews
View all
Punchy and perfect!
Thank you so much to HarperCollins for sending me a copy of this book!
Set in what seems to be a dystopian version of our world, ten beautiful women w... READ MORE
Love Island, but make it dystopian
I absolutely loved this and raced through it - if you're looking for a book you don't want to put down then this is the one!
It's based around a dystopi... READ MORE
Think 'Love Island' but much darker and with a dystopian twist!
4.5 stars
The contestants on the reality TV show are assigned tasks to improve the living conditions of the Compound, earn personal prizes, or sometimes r... READ MORE
Dystopian and depraved but so addicting!
Where even to start?
This was one of the most tragic and addicting books I've read this year. I've read this now two weeks ago and I still think about it... READ MORE
Love Island meet Squid Game
The Compound is a fantastically assured novel and one which is all the more impressive for being a debut. Set in a semi-dystopian future where war has rava... READ MORE
An Incredible Feat
Starting in a utopian villa and quickly descending into savage chaos, The Compound is an incredible feat of literature that will leave you both satisfied a... READ MORE
Didn't want to put this down
I read this book in one sitting and I really enjoyed it. There was suspense and mystery along with some good characters. I would like to hear more about th... READ MORE
Addictive
This is such an addictive read! Definitely would recommend if you are after a strange and exciting thriller.
Deadly Reality TV
I loved this! Reality TV is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine, though I sometimes find myself questioning WHY I've chosen to spend an hour watching what i... READ MORE
Addictive reading
I could not put this book down. If I did manage to pry it out of my reluctant fingers, I was still thinking about it. Marketed as Lord of the Flies meets L... READ MORE
A gripping glimpse into reality TV.
This book, wow. If you love secretly binge watching trash TV in your spare time, or have a quiet love for cliche competition shows boy is this for you!
I ... READ MORE
Good Lord!
Good Lord what a book! Describing it as Love Island meets Lord of the Flies was…pretty darn accurate! (But I’m old school so I was thinking Big Brother)
... READ MORE
Kill or Be Killed (On Camera)
I don't watch that much reality tv (a lie) but I love a book based around reality television: Hunger Games and Chain Gang All Stars are the best of the lot... READ MORE
Synopsis
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?
Lord of the Flies meets love island in this explosive, addictive debut novel, as bingeable as the best reality TV, with dark undercurrents of literary dystopia and consumerist satire.
Publisher information
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- ISBN: 9780008710088
- Number of pages: 352
- Dimensions: 240 x 159 x 34 mm
- Weight: 560g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allThe Compound
The Compound is a superb satire of materialism and an examination of the different ways in which men and women cope under pressure. Men behave like the boy... READ MORE
Great read
Described as Love Island meets Lord of the Flies and tbh, that’s pretty accurate.
This was one of the most original books I’ve read in a while. A realit... READ MORE
Obsessed
Waking up in a compound in the middle of a desert, Lily is one of ten women competing in a reality TV show with high rewards. In a matter of days, ten men ... READ MORE
The Compound
Set in what seems to be a dystopian future, TV cameras focus on ten girls who are waiting in an isolated compound for ten men who have to make their way ac... READ MORE
Good read, fascinating
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.
Not quite a 4 but a good read.
I was morbidly fascinated by this book and I j... READ MORE
Interesting idea
I hate dating shows but the blurb piqued my interest so thought I'd give it a go and I'm glad I did. The book is told from the point of view if Lily who is... READ MORE
An intriguing slice of 'reality'
The Compound is a dystopian take on a dating/reality show, and a smooth, enjoyable read that may nevertheless leave you with some questions.
Lily is ou... READ MORE
Dystopian Love Island with a Sprinkle of Consumerism
Lily wakes up to find herself in compound, with nine other women, awaiting ten men who are to be their companions for the foreseeable future. This book was... READ MORE
Deliciously Dark
I'm not a fan of these kind of reality shows on TV but I loved The Compound - a really original, dystopian take on the idea. Deliciously dark, with some br... READ MORE
We’re Not That Bad…Are We?
This book tells the story of what seems at times to be the inevitable end goal for reality TV. Young beautiful people locked away in a house in the desert... READ MORE
A super-interesting debut, a searing commentary on human nature through the magnifying glass of reality TV
The Compound is a super-interesting debut, a searing commentary on human nature through the magnifying glass of reality TV, in this case a mashup of Big Br... READ MORE
Dystopian satire
Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for this eCopt to review
I didn’t expect to be so unsettled by a book that starts like a glossy dating show. The ... READ MORE
Original and entertaining
I really enjoyed this book! Right from chapter one I was in. I generally don't watch reality TV because I know if I start I will not stop, so I've never wa... READ MORE
Gripping social commentary but fizzled out at the end
I don’t like reality TV, but I couldn’t tear myself away from this book. I read it in three sittings over two days.
It’s set in a near-future that feels... READ MORE
Love Island meets The Hunger Games - but it's literary
So THIS is how you write a book about reality TV. Aisling Rawle's debut novel, The Compound, like many recent thrillers, riffs off the success of shows lik... READ MORE
Be careful what you wish for
There are certainly echoes of Goulding’s "Lord of the Flies” here. However, instead of a group of boys being washed up onto a desert island, Rawle uses a r... READ MORE
Slow burn thriller
I have a bit of a soft spot for reality TV based fiction, and looking at the blurb for The Compound, I knew it was going to be just my cup of tea!
Lily ... READ MORE
Entertaining beach read
Over all I enjoyed this book, but it was slow in the first half and slightly confusing as there were so many characters.
The second half was more fun to r... READ MORE
Reality exposed
An easy read, but I wasn’t sure I’d finish it. Whilst the author captures the venality of the contestants and the manipulation by reality TV, initially, I ... READ MORE
Clever Courtroom drama
Here, we have the third book in Rob Rinders' excellent series featuring Adam Brown,a Junior Barrrister at the Stag Court practice.
It opens with a sumptuo... READ MORE
Unnerving
I read an eARC of this book on Net Galley so thank you to the author and the publisher.
I’ve never watched Love Island and I’m not a big watcher of rea... READ MORE
Four stars!
The Compound by Aisling Rawle is a gripping and addictive debut book that brilliantly blends dystopian themes with dark social commentary. Set in a desolat... READ MORE
For fans of Love Island, Big Brother, Survivor, and similar reality TV shows
The Compound is a novel divided into 20 chapters that occupy three clear parts. The way it starts gave me Love Island meets Big Brother meets Zimbardo Pris... READ MORE
The Cruellest Game Show you'll ever read about...
The Compound is a television gameshow, a kind of logical extension of Love Island and I’m a Celebrity, with the challenges and the cruelty ramped up a notc... READ MORE
Love Island x Dystopia
A suspenseful and thrilling story which combines the atmospheres of Love Island, Big Brother and Lord of the Flies. The story explores the issues of modern... READ MORE
Brilliant beach read
I don't watch reality TV shows but the concept of this book fascinated me. The Compound is set I think in the not too distant future. Life seems pretty ble... READ MORE
A super-interesting debut, a searing commentary on human nature through the magnifying glass of reality TV
The Compound is a super-interesting debut, a searing commentary on human nature through the magnifying glass of reality TV, in this case a mashup of Big Br... READ MORE
Cutthroat Reality Show!
One the surface it seems like all those shows like Love Island or other reality tv but from the start, it is a creepy dystopian feel with the house startin... READ MORE
Good read
Ten young beautiful women wake up in a large house with a large outdoor area bordered by barbed wire, a compound; in the middle of a dessert, soon they are... READ MORE
interesting
This was an interesting contemporary take on the classic trope of power and betrayal and I enjoyed the way the plot panned out. However, I really struggled... READ MORE
Loved it
What a great debut book, I absolutely flew through this in 3 days (which is fast now I have a toddler). I sort of knew I would love this going into it beca... READ MORE
Compelling beach read
Strangers thrown together after choosing to enter a TV show which promises rewards. For Lily it's a chance to escape them drudgery of her life and the war ... READ MORE
Just not for me
I was intrigued by the blurb about this book. I have watched Love Island and hated myself for becoming so wrapped up in it and this book was pretty similar... READ MORE
Love Island meets Lord of the flies
Reality television meets Lord of the flies. If you like reality shows this is the book for you.
Cameras watching every move and microphones listening in... READ MORE
A thrilling, compulsive read!
I heard so much hype about this book on Instagram and I was so delighted that it met expectations!
The Compound is described as Love Island meets Lord o... READ MORE
Reality TV with a Dose of Dystopia
I’m not a reality TV girlie. Love Island? Couldn’t be less interested. But this? I devoured it. Unputdownable. Rawle has taken the format, twisted it until... READ MORE
Twisty and clever
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this book given the premise, but I was completely blown away by it. It's so twisty and clever, and is dripping w... READ MORE
I liked the concept of this story but sadly didn't feel that the story was for me
I liked the concept of this story but sadly didn't feel that the story was for me, the characters were shallow and unlikeable, the pace was slow and the en... READ MORE
Love island with a twist, enjoyable.
Slow and steady but kept me intrigued to see what happened next, got more intense in the few chapters before the ending. Description was spot on, Love isl... READ MORE
The Compound by Aisling Rawle
Set in a near-future, war-torn, almost dystopian world, ten young men and ten young women have voluntarily given up their lives to be filmed 24 hours a day... READ MORE
This was like watching an episode of Black Mirror.
I had to sit with my feelings a bit after reading this as the book had left me speechless.
The pairing up of love island meets the 24/7 cameras and the ... READ MORE
An ambiguous commentary on fame and consumerism
I watched the first season of Big Brother UK long, long ago and it was interesting because it was new. Wind forward 25 years and everything has been made i... READ MORE
Will keep you gripped!
This is so very clever. A brilliant debut too. It’s a twist on Love Island but set in a murky dystopian future. This writer is absolutely brilliant with ch... READ MORE
Good Debut
This book has sat in my to be read piles for about a year... I was tempted by it but also doubted the read was really something for me.
Well after a year ... READ MORE
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