'The idea was that it was Love Island but it was sinister rather than sexy and it wasn't necessarily a fun time'

"It's like a social experiment except it's sponsored by fast fashion," laughs Aisling Rawle, when she talks about comparing Love Island to the early days of Big Brother. 

The Leitrim Observer spoke to her just after she returned from London and New York where she was promoting her new book, The Compound, which was inspired by the reality show, on Good Morning America, with the book receiving rave reviews from the New York Times and other giants in the industry such as Cecila Ahern and Louise O'Neill. 

Delighted to be "back on Irish soil" Aisling said that her parents Bernie and Felim are delighted with her success and have supported throughout the process.  

The cover of the book depicts a colourful and vibrant complex set against a fried and dead background, which she says reflects the tone of the book - beautiful people enjoying their lives, wilfully ignoring a world outside that is on it's knees due to issues such as fast fashion and over consumption.

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"The idea was that it was Love Island but it was sinister rather than sexy and it wasn't necessarily a fun time; it was a more sinister time which I feel like the UK cover captures," she told us.

Speaking about how the book came to be, she explained: "I had just finished my first year of teaching and I actually started it on the first day of the summer holidays. By the end of the summer, the book was written; it felt a bit surreal going back into the school year." 

However, Aisling is no longer teaching and is now a writer full-time and working on her second offering. 

She has an under graduate degree in English from UCD and from there went on to gain her Professional Master of Education (PME) at UCD in 2022. "I started teaching during covid which was loads of fun."

Aisling said she was fortunate to find an agent who straightaway, saw the value of the book and put the wheels in motion for the work to be published. "I sent it out to a literary agent, based in London and she agreed to take me on and has been absolutely fabulous. We edited it for a couple of months and then sent it out in January on a Friday and there was interest on the Monday and the auction started on Tuesday."

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While Aisling no longer watches Love Island, she had watched it for a few years prior to write the book, unsurprisingly. 

Without giving away too much, the book sees contestants pitted against each other continuously in order to gain rewards or lose their place in the compound, and the game slowly becomes darker as suspicions rise and trust disappears. 

She said: "Particularly during lockdown, I used to watch it with my flatmates. I think shows like that celebrate very superficial elements and the fact that we know so little about the contestants, I think endorses the idea that we are not interested in the people, we are more interested in how desirable they are or the fantasy that they can represent. As well as that, the fact that everything is kind of transactional in the compound and the contestants are never really sure if the interactions with their fellow housemates are genuine or in anticipation or fulfilment of a deal or reward; to me, that feels like being online at the minute, where you wonder, 'Is this this person's genuine opinion or are they fishing for a brand deal; is this interview or article or thoughtful video sponsored by something?' It was fun to have a microcosm of that where they were all unsure of each other's intention."

She continued: "I think it's human interest to look out for one's best interest or maybe not always say what you mean but I think there's something so depressing about it when, for the person pulling the strings, it's just another product."

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When it comes to influencers, Aisling said often, endorsements ring hollow as viewers are not sure if the content is based on their actual opinion or due to a potential or ongoing deal with a company. "I think for the most part, they represent a false reality where they are trading their experiences or manufactured opinions for the sake of an uncaring brand. I think if the brand was more worthy, they wouldn't feel the need to hire a beautiful twenty-something to say, 'Oh my gosh, this changed my life!'.  So it adds an element to unreality to it all, as we try to navigate ethical and mindful consumption. For me I wanted to talk about consumerism, not just the products that we buy but the content that we consume and both of them felt the same to me; that when we buy, we buy in hauls and when we watch, we watch in binges and everything is more, more, more and we are not really looking for quality, we just want quantity. Capitalism is just aimed at consumption; it doesn't really care if it brings fulfilment; the main thing is that you have this feeling of constantly wanting more and it's a void that's never really filled."

She continued that the goal is often to keep the ever elusive gold beauty standard "just out of reach". "I was reading something about how Ozempic is changing beauty standards. Thinness was always the unattainable standard but now that non-celebrities can be thin through using Ozempic, the goal posts have changed again and it's not really about being thin anymore but more about being toned and trim; it's now about the 'Pilates body'. A lot of these concepts of beauty are really commercialised because beauty is something we are all in pursuit of but that doesn't necessarily mean that it has to be commodified of commercialised; human beings naturally incline towards beauty in all things however we've taken the natural beauty, particular of women, and said 'Let's see how much money we can make from making it unattainable and how much people will spend and what people will sacrifice to try and reach this new standard.' And it does target young women in particular who may be more impressionable and feel they have more to achieve."

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Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis died by suicide after appearing on the program with the show's original presenter, Caroline Flack, also dying by suicide.

Regarding the show's responsibility when it comes to the mental health of contestants, Aisling said: "The company line is 'We are prioritising mental health' but I think that whatever supports are offered - and I am glad that they are offering more supports now - if you offer up someone's experiences, their highs and lows; their proud moments and degrading moments are offered up as entertainment and fodder for the masses; no matter what, it's exploitative and they unapologetically take advantage of these people's vulnerabilities. They can say that they want to look after one and then they'll do something so horrible; the camera tracking the tears that are falling and the fights that break out. It's a bit of a contradiction."

Former Love Island contestant Molly-Mae Hague had all her fillers dissolved in 2020 with a number of other reality stars following suit saying they also wanted a more natural appearance.

So is the 'done' look on the way out?

Aisling responded: "The beauty industry is an enormously profitable industry and if women were content, it would be bad for business so I don't really see that happening. Candice is the most beautiful one and her beauty is less seen as a celebration and more as a threat. One of the first things Lily thinks when she sees her is there was 'no part of her beauty that didn't make me question my own'. Her and Lily do form a genuine friendship and there is even an attraction between them. I think the media pitch beautiful women against each other and one form of beauty isn't valid if it's upholding the standard of beauty."

The show was also criticised for it's treatment of black contestants with Yewande Biala from Season Five saying it was  "racist and malicious" when another contestant refused to learn how to pronounce her name correctly.  

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Speaking about one of the key characters in the book, "We see that with Jacinta, who is black, is not given the same opportunities, even when it comes to something that seems as superficial as the compound not having a shade of foundation for darker skin. This again upholds the idea of a white standard of beauty.  I think representation like that does matter."

Love Island has not featured same-sex couples due to what producers have described as "logistical difficulties" although some contestants have identified as bisexual.

On this Aisling said: "I think the show promotes heteronormativity in a way that is casually destructive and promotes that the love that we want to see is hetero love and that queer love is sort of a separate genre of entertainment. People say that there are queer versions of these shows and that irritates me because that 'others' queer love and makes it a separate thing; a different channel at a different time; it's not prime time - the main event."

Speaking about the popularity of her book, the unassuming writer said that "it was so incredible and I never for one minute take it for granted. It is such a pleasure and a privilege. I was never even sure it was going to be a book. I am a writer, was an English teacher and before that was a bookseller; Books have always been my life in some way, shape or form. The fact that it became a book was the biggest success for me and anything that happened after was just a sort of happy surprise."

She said that publishing the book has been an "amazing experience; that people know the characters as well; it's all very cool and surreal."

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She concluded that "it's great that the Irish literary landscape is so thriving and so it's so lovely to see that there are so many women who are propping it up. It's an exciting time and so vibrant and reaching across the globe and that's really amazing."

The Compound is available now at all good bookshops as well as through Amazon.com and all online platforms.