The Compound

‘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

'A clever and delicious treat' ZAKIYA DALILA HARRIS

'Page-turning, nail-biting… utterly bingeable' OLIVIA GATWOOD

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?

THE COMPOUND is an addictive literary satire that holds a twisted mirror up to our obsession with winning, losing and above all, watching.

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

'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

'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

'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

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.

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