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The Compound

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What to expect

** 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

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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.

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READERS ARE GRIPPED

‘THE must read hot book of summer 2025!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Ok I seriously loved this. The story is so addictive. There are sudden twists, simmering uneasiness and a wholly fitting ending that has stayed with me since I finished reading it’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Deliciously dark, this was a real page turner that I couldn't wait to get back to each night' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘There aren't many books that I would want to read twice, but this is one of them' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘This was sold to me as Love Island meets Big Brother meets Survivor, and oh my gosh it didn't disappoint!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Fans of Black Mirror and The Hunger Games will find The Compound both thought-provoking and disturbingly relevant' ⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A fun beach read, perfect for the summer' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I absolutely inhaled this. What a read. Materialism, wealth, love… Wow. So original and well written' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Critics Review

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

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'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

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'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

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'This menace-dipped novel is an unsparing take on how much we are being commodified in this social media age of consumerism and manipulation' THE TIMES

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

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

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'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

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'Beautifully written and thought-provoking’ DAILY MAIL

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'Sinister in all the best ways’ ELLE

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'Twisty, satirical… delivers on its binge-worthy premise with romance and betrayal' MAIL ON SUNDAY

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‘Smart and provocative… thrilling and haunting’ NEW YORK TIMES Book Review

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'A brilliant debut, with some unexpected twists, a simmering uneasiness and an ending I've thought about since I finished reading it’ DAILY MIRROR

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'Innovative, captivating, and impossible to put down' LEILA MOTTLEY

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

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'Riveting and deeply unsettling… a book for our times: I flew through it and kept thinking about it long after the last page' JANELLE BROWN

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

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'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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