Overview
A cutthroat reality TV show in the middle of nowhere shines a spotlight on the dark aspects of the genre. The stakes are high, the plot twists are many… and there can be only one winner.
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
ONE THE BOOKS OF THE SUMMER: The New York Times, Vulture, Time, Harper’s Bazaar, Good Housekeeping, Forbes, Betches, Publishers Weekly
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.
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
ONE THE BOOKS OF THE SUMMER: The New York Times, Vulture, Time, Harper’s Bazaar, Good Housekeeping, Forbes, Betches, Publishers Weekly
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.
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