The Compound cover art

The Compound

Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Compound

By: Aisling Rawle
Narrated by: Lucy Boynton
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £15.50

Buy Now for £15.50

About this listen

** A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK **

A GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD WINNER

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD: FICTION

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

A 'BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR' IN THE NEW YORKER & OPRAH DAILY

‘Relentlessly gripping’ ABIGAIL DEAN

‘Menace-dipped’ THE TIMES

‘Thrilling and haunting’ NEW YORK TIMES

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

All of you are young, beautiful, and keen to escape the catastrophe of the outside world.

Cameras broadcast your every move to millions of reality TV fans.

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

What will you do to win?

And what happens to the losers?

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– READERS ARE GRIPPED

‘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' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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

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

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

Editorial Review

An unputdownable listen to devour seaside
Fans of bingeable reality TV and speculative fiction alike will find themselves gripped by the premise of Aisling Rawle's debut. Our beautiful heroine Lily wakes inside "the compound"—the remote desert set of a blockbuster reality show—where she must compete against 18 other contestants to earn both prizes and the right to stay. Amidst the romance and machinations, there's also this mysterious, niggling sense that just maybe beyond the borders of their titular home, there's an apocalyptic event on the horizon. Beyond that unnerving mystery, the combustion engine at the heart of this stylish story is Rawle's nuanced understanding of the motivations at play when beautiful people rank themselves against one another. She renders them far more human and tangible than the show producers ever would. It was enough to make this listener wonder if the author herself had ever enjoyed a stint of temporary fame; but it's more likely that—as a secondary school teacher by trade—Rawle knows better than most the feeling of sharks swarming. —Emily C., Audible Editor

All stars
Most relevant
Felt like young adult fiction, although not marketed as that. Story interesting enough to keep listening but doesn’t really go anywhere, but I do feel I was not the intended audience. Narrator was good.

Interesting enough

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The is story has so much potential and it did keep me involved right till the end. But I need closure!!

Easy listen but abrupt end

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I really enjoyed this, it was shorter than what I expected but ai loved the dark undertones, the world building although a very small 'world' was beautifully crafted so you understood quickly the social and environmental factors that have huge impacts on the contestants in the story. I would say this is a profound story, and although the main character is lacking, you still end up caring for Lilly.

The stretches of social experiments

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I have never watched Love Island or those sort of shows but was drawn to this and glad I was. The pace, the narration were compelling, i was engaged throughout the story. Loved it.
.

Compelling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Really enjoyed this debut novel, dark, dystopian. Looking forward to what is next from the author

Big Brother meets Hunger Games meets Love Island

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews