Book Review: The Compound

What would happen if Love Island became a Hunger Games type spectacle in a dystopian near future? This is the question posed by Aisling Rawe in her addictive if frustrating sci-fi romance book The Compound. 

Opening with the arrival of ten men and women in a desert, the book follows protagonist Lily, one of the contestants taking part in the country’s most popular reality TV show. Blending elements of reality shows such as Love Island, The Bachelor and Survivor, She is competing against other men and women to be crowned the winner of the contest, undergoing a series of tasks and trials while trying to find a love match. Anyone who does not end up in the same bed with another contestant is banished from the competition, left to walk alone out into the expansive desert. It was an intriguing setup and I was interested to see how this reality show operates within the context of a dystopian world which we are told is war-stricken and one the contestants wish to escape from. Unfortunately, the concept did not hold its weight the full length of the novel. 

With the immediate introduction of 20 characters with few distinguishing traits, I was a bit lost with understanding who is who and getting to grips with the characters’ dynamics. Rawe openly characterises Lily as someone seeking fame and fortune, losing herself in her vapid achievements and the expectations of a superficial relationship which was an interesting evolution to track as she slowly realises the problems underscoring the reality she has subscribed to. There is a big emphasis on the arc of Lily’s romantic relationships with some of the men in the compound which failed the apparent chemistry and bond between her and her matches. The more compelling plot element was the unravelling of the system that the contestants had created, causing them to betray each other and resort to animalistic survival instinct reminiscent of Lord of the Flies. 

The biggest letdown with this book was its refusal to be specific in its world building and creating stakes in which the characters suffer consequences. The ‘producers’ of the show are alluded to as shadowy, inaccessible beings who control the strings but we are never given information about who they are, why they began the programme or why they choose to intervene in some circumstances but withdraw in others. The reader is told that the outside world is bleak, Lily is a makeup artist in a department store and that certain characters may have been involved in the ongoing war. There is no attempt to situate the reader and the foundations of the story end up feeling thinly thought out, I do not know where this is meant to be set and I can only suspect it is based in the near-future from scattered clues. The novel hinges so much on the bubble of the compound that it does not even try to envision and portray the world in which it exists. 

The Compound is a creepy, unsettling dystopian love story which is ambitious in its attempts to make meaningful social commentary on consumerism, capitalism and our society’s obsession with reality TV but fails to execute all of the themes which it is trying to portray. It is a quick, easy read, the first half in particular, but one I will not be returning to. 

I would rate this 3 stars. 

Written by, Eve Hutchinson