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The Compound

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The Compound

By: Aisling Rawle
Narrated by: Lucy Boynton
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About this listen

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. Easily one of my favourite novels I’ve read this year… 10 out of 10' CECELIA AHERN

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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 on modern excess: it holds a twisted mirror up to our obsession with winning, losing and, above all, watching.

©2025 Aisling Rawle (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers
Contemporary Dystopian Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Thriller & Suspense Exciting Witty

Critic Reviews

'An Animal Farm for our age of relentless materialism' NEW YORK TIMES

'Written with total verve and delight… definitely a name to watch' STYLIST

'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

'Every bit as addictive as your favourite guilty pleasure binge-watch, but with all the substance of a literary classic' OPRAH DAILY

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

'Utterly addictive – I devoured it in one gulp, completely immersed. An unforgettable debut' CATHERINE RYAN HOWARD

'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

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