The Compound: A GMA Book Club Pick

A Novel

By: Aisling Rawle

Narrated by: Lucy Boynton

GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

Nothing to lose. Everything to gain. Winner takes all.

“Every bit as addictive as your favorite guilty pleasure binge-watch, but with all the substance of a literary classic.”—Oprah Daily

“It’s fun to watch hot people do psychotic things in this novel. . . . Smart and provocative [and] so damn addictive.”—The New York Times Book Review

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, THE NEW YORKER, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, OPRAH DAILY, THE GLOBE AND MAIL, CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY

Lily—a bored, beautiful twenty-something—wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door.

Cameras are catching all her angles, good and bad, but Lily has no desire to leave: why would she, when the world outside is falling apart? As the competition intensifies, intimacy between the players deepens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between desire and desperation. When the unseen producers raise the stakes, forcing contestants into upsetting, even dangerous situations, the line between playing the game and surviving it begins to blur. If Lily makes it to the end, she’ll receive prizes beyond her wildest dreams—but what will she have to do to win?

Addictive and prescient, The Compound is an explosive debut from a major new voice in fiction and will linger in your mind long after the game ends.

So creepy

U kinda get dropped in to the Story, and it slowly builds to this grotesque lord of the flies/paradise Island circus… it’s frighteningly realistic and like a wreck… you can’t look away

Gripping and chilling Love Island gone wrong!

I really enjoyed the audiobook for The Compound. The narrator, Lucy Boynton did a great job with the inflections and reading different characters and keeping it interesting.

I was hooked instantly! I got all the vibes of Love Island with a twist. The rules of the game, the love interests, the back-stabbing, the gossiping, and all the other crazy and fun stuff that went with it. Also, Too Hot to Handle came to mind because of the AI host who would come on when the players were doing something wrong.

Where it lost a star for me was towards the last quarter of the book. I felt like as more people got kicked off the compound, the less interesting it became. Yes, the game was still interesting and it goes to show what people will do to stay “alive” and not get kicked. I kept thinking to myself, why not just leave? It all seems a lot and overwhelming and not worth it. I guess they all needed to prove themselves and I think most were on the show for their future brand deals and fame.

This book is a reminder as to how much the world enjoys watching people on reality TV and how trashy it really is. Don’t get me wrong, I am the first to line up to see a reality love show. 😅 It makes me question what goes on behind the scenes a bit more and also makes me realize how quickly I would’ve been kicked off because I just am not that much of a fighter. 😬

I can see how this is a GMA pick and I say yes to reading it!!

interesting thoughts on line with classic distopia

modern play on classic themes and questions found in Brave New World, Hunter Games, and Animal Farm.

Really Interesting Look into the Cost of Fame

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. As a longtime bachelor fan, I felt like a book like this was needed to look into the desire to self-torture in the name of fame and limitless possessions. I would be so interested to see a movie adaptation.

I have been waiting since minute one to say this, though: the audio is way too low on this book. I was having to turn the volume all the way to max to hear. Is there any way to fix this for future listeners? It was kind of torture, because then if your music comes on when you get in the car, it hits you full volume from listening to the book.

Best storyline

Complex characters and intense scenes. Finished the book in two days because couldn’t put it down. Still wanted more after the end.