image of person or book cover 755477485422257963.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon Compulsion single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2023... 2023 Compulsion
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Lucy has burned down her life. Robin, her new, eternally watchful friend, has never learned to inhabit his. Both have found their way to the small seaside town of Abergele, Lucy to dry out and immerse herself in obsessive research on early electronic music, Robin to stand sentinel as his grandmother dies.

'Recognising in each other a fellow exile and a rich source of distraction, they fall into step on daily rambles across the cliffs. Their charged conversations about music and philosophy function as both high-stakes flirtation and a stealthy way of processing the ways their lives have gone awry.

'Lucy recreates her old life in hothouse miniature: old friends and fascinations reappear from the city, including the charismatic and cruel Julian, the radiant concentration of all Lucy’s obsessions, and Gudrun, whose bulletproof poise makes her irresistible to all. Robin is soon drawn into these claustrophobic entanglements.

'Across endless dinners, parties and benders, the group attempt to out-perform each other, their devotion to pleasure frequently tipping into self-immolation. Exhausted by the mayhem, Robin and Lucy flee Abergele, but their compulsions prove more difficult to shake.'  (Publication summary)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Hamish Hamilton ,
      2023 .
      image of person or book cover 755477485422257963.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 320p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 10 January 2023
      ISBN: 9781761046551

Other Formats

  • Braille.
  • Dyslexic edition.
  • Large print.

Works about this Work

Book Review : Compulsion, Kate Scott Mia Ferreira , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , January 2023;

— Review of Compulsion Kate Scott , 2023 single work novel

'A decadent tale of sex, drugs and, yes, music.'

Fairy Tales and Fever Dreams : Three Tales of Self-discovery Lisa Bennett , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 453 2023; (p. 36)

— Review of Fed to Red Birds Rijn Collins , 2023 single work novel ; How to Be Remembered Michael Thompson , 2023 single work novel ; Compulsion Kate Scott , 2023 single work novel
'On the surface, there is little connection between these three début novels. Rijn Collins’s Fed to Red Birds (Simon & Schuster, $32.99 pb, 247 pp) sketches an intimate portrait of migration, beautifully illustrating the migrant’s immersion within and isolation from their adopted land. Elva, a young Australian woman, hopes to remain in Iceland, her absent mother’s home country, despite the unique challenges it presents her. Michael Thompson’s How to be Remembered (Allen & Unwin, $32.99 pb, 344 pp) poses an intriguing metaphysical question: what happens if, each year on his birthday, every trace of one boy’s existence is erased? How can a person survive when nobody, not even his parents, knows who he is? Tommy Llewellyn is determined to find the answer and outfox this universal reset. Kate Scott’s Compulsion (Hamish Hamilton, $32.99 pb, 279 pp) revels in music, drugs, food, fashion, and hedonism. Lucy Lux attempts to uncomplicate her chaotic partying lifestyle by escaping to a remote seaside town she remembers from her childhood, where her passions and problems blaze anew. Despite their many differences, these are all essentially stories of self-discovery, coming of age, and obsession.' 

(Introduction)

Fairy Tales and Fever Dreams : Three Tales of Self-discovery Lisa Bennett , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 453 2023; (p. 36)

— Review of Fed to Red Birds Rijn Collins , 2023 single work novel ; How to Be Remembered Michael Thompson , 2023 single work novel ; Compulsion Kate Scott , 2023 single work novel
'On the surface, there is little connection between these three début novels. Rijn Collins’s Fed to Red Birds (Simon & Schuster, $32.99 pb, 247 pp) sketches an intimate portrait of migration, beautifully illustrating the migrant’s immersion within and isolation from their adopted land. Elva, a young Australian woman, hopes to remain in Iceland, her absent mother’s home country, despite the unique challenges it presents her. Michael Thompson’s How to be Remembered (Allen & Unwin, $32.99 pb, 344 pp) poses an intriguing metaphysical question: what happens if, each year on his birthday, every trace of one boy’s existence is erased? How can a person survive when nobody, not even his parents, knows who he is? Tommy Llewellyn is determined to find the answer and outfox this universal reset. Kate Scott’s Compulsion (Hamish Hamilton, $32.99 pb, 279 pp) revels in music, drugs, food, fashion, and hedonism. Lucy Lux attempts to uncomplicate her chaotic partying lifestyle by escaping to a remote seaside town she remembers from her childhood, where her passions and problems blaze anew. Despite their many differences, these are all essentially stories of self-discovery, coming of age, and obsession.' 

(Introduction)

Book Review : Compulsion, Kate Scott Mia Ferreira , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , January 2023;

— Review of Compulsion Kate Scott , 2023 single work novel

'A decadent tale of sex, drugs and, yes, music.'

Last amended 9 Aug 2023 10:31:16
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