Business [Paperback]

Iain Banks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 8, 2000

Kate Telman is a senior executive officer in The Business, a powerful and massively discreet transglobal organisation. Financially transparent, internally democratic and disavowing conventional familial inheritance, the character of The Business seems, even to Kate, to be vague to the point of invisibility. It possesses, allegedly, a book of Leonardo cartoons, several sets of Crown Jewels and wants to buy its own State in order to acquire a seat at the United Nations. Kate's job is to keep abreast of current technological developments and her global reach encompasses Silicon Valley, a ranch in Nebraska, the firm's secretive Swiss headquarters, and a remote Himalayan principality. In the course of her journey Kate must peel away layers of emotional insulation and the assumptions of a lifetime. She must learn to keep her world at arm's length. To take control, she has to do The Business.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Iain Banks is a multi-generic, multi-task dream. On one hand, he's produced a series of science fiction novels (Feersum Endjinn, Inversions) that have achieved cult status in his native Britain. On the other hand, he has dipped into the world of contemporary fiction with a number of equally successful works (The Bridge, Complicity). Fans of both rely on Banks's acidic wit, elegantly clever prose, and sometimes befuddling but always fascinating plot twists.

The Business, a sly satire of corporate success, begins with every promise of fulfilling those standards. Kathryn Telman, "a senior executive officer, third level (counting from the top) in a commercial organization which has had many different names through the ages but which, these days, we usually just refer to as the Business," has been selected to negotiate the Business's purchase of the sovereign state of Thulahn (where "the royal palace is heated by yak dung" and the "national sport is emigration"). Corporate takeovers are small potatoes compared to the acquisition of an entire country, and Kathryn's politely scheming superiors have set their sights on a seat at the United Nations and the "unrestricted use of that perfect smuggling route called the diplomatic bag."

Kathryn's voice, at once polished and gritty, is the novel's strongest point. Her wry dissections of the Business, its motives and ambitions, its members, and the delightful irony of negotiating with Thulahn's crown prince (who is more interested in matrimony than marketeering) are sheer reading pleasure. And the notion of an ancient, omnipotent, secretive corporation is a great starting point for any number of stories. But The Business is, sadly, next to bankrupt on the level of plot. Of the two storylines that structure the novel (the takeover of Thulahn and Kathryn's growing suspicion of high-level fraud), neither amounts to much. Their development and resolution, such as they are, seem so haphazard that the reader might wonder whether Banks just lost interest in his own story.

For dedicated Banks fans, The Business may not be on a par with his other outings, but the pleasure of his prose is nonetheless satisfying. Newcomers to the Banks mystique, having no points of reference, may be well content with his arch humor and forceful characterization. --Kelly Flynn --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Ever since The Wasp Factory first bent readers' minds in 1984, prolific Scottish author Banks has tantalized and terrified with his eerily accurate representations of humanity at its twisted best and worst. Lighter in mood than some of his previous novels, his latest, a bestseller in Great Britain, is still shot through with sinister undertones. In a recognizable but slightly tilted 1998, Kathryn Telman works for the Business, a mysterious corporation that predates the Christian church and at one point owned the Roman Empire. Plucked from poverty in West Scotland at the age of eight, she has been groomed for the fast track ever since. Thirty years later, despite her power, money and success, she is finally beginning to wonder just what the Business is all about. Why was she pulled out of Scotland just as she noticed something amiss at a subsidiary chip factory? Why has she been summoned by a munitions-collecting higher-up to talk his nephew out of writing an incendiary anti-Islamic screenplay? Why has the Business's sinister head of security sent her a dirty DVD showing the wife of Kathryn's colleagueDand secret loveDin an illicit tryst? And why suddenly appoint her "ambassador" to Thulahn, a remote Himalayan principality the Business is buying in order to gain its own seat in the U.N.? Banks offers a hilarious look at international corporate culture and the insatiable avarice that drives it, but he suggests the positive potential of globalization, too. Less overtly eccentric and sensationalistic than favorites like The Wasp Factory and A Song of Stone, the novel is a clever, genre-bending pleasure. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 393 pages
• Publisher: Abacus (June 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0349112452
• ISBN-13: 978-0349112459
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,073,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read, but not his best book, January 5, 2001

By 

Mike Christie (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Business : A Novel (Hardcover)

The "business" of the title is a vast two-thousand-year-old entity that has been around since early in the life of the Roman Empire. However, this is not an "Illuminatus" novel; there is no conspiracy to take over the world here; no secret cabal controlling presidents and monarchs; no "Protocol of the Elders of Zion". This is a business, and they just want to make money. Of course they do it on scale that even General Motors might envy; much of the book's plot turns on their desire to get a seat at the UN by getting control of one of the tinier nations. (Quite openly, and with the agreement of that nation's government.)

The protagonist is Kathryn Telman, adopted into the business at an early age, and now, at 38, a rising executive with a sharp eye for company politics and a strong sense of ethics. She is faced with several ethical choices in "The Business", and she makes, by and large, intelligent decisions. However, the book is also, in a quiet way, a political thriller, and though there are no actual dead bodies, there is certainly some skulduggery for Kathryn to get to the bottom of.

One of Banks' greatest assets is his ability to weld a good story to a worthwhile problem, and tell the whole thing entertainingly. "The Business" is no exception. It's not his best book: I'd recommend "The Bridge" or "Complicity" if you want to start somewhere else, or "The Player of Games" if you like science fiction; but it's a fine, smooth, and thought-provoking read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A netsuke monkey and a twelve sided thruppeny bit, August 27, 2007

By 

Craobh Rua "Craobh Rua" (N. Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Business (Paperback)

Iain Banks was born in Scotland in 1954 and published his first book - "The Wasp Factory" - in 1984. In the years since, he's won critical acclaim, topped best-seller lists and has even written Science Fiction books under the cunning nom-de-plume `Iain M. Banks'. "The Business" was first published in 1999, and is his tenth non sci-fi book.

The origins of the Business predate Christianity, and it - technically - owned the Roman Empire for an exceptionally short spell. (It turned out to be something of a mistake). The world headquarters are at Chateau d'Oex, in Switzerland, where there are - allegedly - some rather interesting items in their vaults. (These are rumoured to include a book that might just have made it into the Bible and some rather erotic doodlings sketched by Michelangelo). Although the Business has 'understandings' with several states and regimes, it is now planning to 'buy' its own country - allowing for a seat on the United Nations and diplomatic immunity for its senior executives. Officially, the country being considered if Fenua Uans, a small island in the Pacific.

Kate Telman is senior executive officer, third level with the Business. She started with Security, though has been keeping an eye on technology trends in recent years - luckily, her suggestions on where to invest have been paying off significantly. (As a result, she reached Level Three a good deal more quickly than she had dared hope). Kate is thirty eight years old and was born in Scotland, but holds joint British - US citizenship. Although she is currently on sabbatical, she has been with the organisation since she left school. She had been effectively groomed for the Business by Elizabeth Telman since childhood, following a chance meeting on the roadside in 1968. Elizabeth adopted Kate after her natural mother died, four years later. Now, with Elizabeth also dead, Freddy Ferrindonald is the closest thing to family she has left. Freddy, a step-brother of Elizabeth's, is also a high-ranking Business employee, not to mention exceptionally rich and just a little odd. He lives at Blysecrag House, which might just qualify as a stately home. (It has three hundred rooms and its cellars extend for two miles). The pair certainly get on very well together, and Kate admits to being very fond of Freddy.

Blysecrag is soon to be playing host to a very high-level meeting and some general hedonism - Kate is rather excited (and relieved) to have been invited. Unffortunately, Prince Suvinder Dzung from Thulan will also be among the other guests. Suvinder is a noted admirer of Kate's, but the admiration is entirely one way. Kate prefers Stephen Buzetski, another Business executive - unfortunately, he is proving to be stubbornly loyal to his wife. Events at Blysecrag lead to Kate doing a little more travelling and attending a few more meetings - leading to an offer she never seriously expected and didn't necessarily want. However, as time goes by, she becomes increasingly suspicious that the more senior executives are not being entirely straight about things...

Generally, I've found if a book has the name "Iain Banks" on the cover it's well worth reading. "The Crow Road" and "Whit" would both safely be included in my "10 Favourite Books of All Time", while "Canal Dreams" and "The Wasp Factory" would probably be knocking loudly on the door. In all those books, Banks has developed a strong 'lead' character whose past has contributed as much to the book as the 'current' events of the story. In comparison, "The Business" is a little weak : Kate's past isn't developed in the way Prentice McHoan's or Frank Cauldhame's are developed, while the story's 'current' events - meetings, parties and sightseeing - aren't quite as absorbing as the events of "Whit" and "Canal Dreams". However, "The Business" is still an Iain Banks book : even on an off-day, he'll tell a story a good deal more readable and a great deal more enjoyable than your average writer is capable of producing.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Banks Lite, December 26, 2006

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Business: A Novel (Paperback)

Banks is a very prolific writer of both "regular" and speculative fiction. Prior to this, I'd read two of what are generally considered his better books: the intensely creepy "The Wasp Factory", and the fantastical "The Bridge". I'd enjoyed those, so when I saw this at a yard sale for $1, I grabbed it. Unfortunately, I discovered there's a good reason the person was getting rid of it.

The story starts out with a lot of promise, as we meet likable 35ish heroine Kate Tellman. Plucked from poverty in Scotland by a benefactor and sent to boarding schools, the smart, stylish, funny, sexy, cunning, empathetic Kate has used her tech savvy to rise quickly in the ranks of "The Business." This mysterious firm is a massive global force, hidden behind a myriad of holding companies and silent partnerships. We first meet her in a comic scene in the dead of night, when a colleague about to embark on a key business trip wakes her up in a panic. It seems someone has drugged him and removed a good portion of his teeth...

This plotline is quickly left behind, as Kate stumbles onto some kind of shady business at one of her firm's factories. There may be high-level involvement in some sort of embezzlement -- but before she can dig too deeply, she's off to a lifestyles of the rich and famous type party hosted by her adopted Uncle Freddy at his vast Yorkshire estate. There, we learn of her yen for a married colleague, as well as of a Thulahnese prince's amorous designs on her. Thulahn is a kind of Bhutan/Nepal nestled in the Himalayas, and before long, she is sent there to inspect it for a top-secret Business scheme.

But despite all this jet-setting, and nice scene-setting, humorous descriptions and dialogue -- nothing much happens. The plotline concerning fraud at The Business kind of drifts in and out without any vigor, and ends up being rather easily (if unconvincingly) resolved. The other plotline, revolving around Thulahn, is wrapped up with such perfunctory haste that it smacks of Banks having totally lost interest in his book partway through. The book feels somewhat like "Banks lite", as most of the characters are one-dimensional eccentrics (Uncle Freddy is a car nut, a senior American boss is a munitions nut, a senior Malaysian boss wants to ram a ship into a beach, Kate's main girlfriend spends all her time berating her, Kate's love interest is Mr. Perfect, the Queen of Thulahn hasn't left her bed in 30 years), and you keep having to remind yourself what the plot actually is. Alas, the ending is so abrupt and anticlimactic that many readers will be checking their copy for a missing final chapter (or two). There are some nice definitely some clever turns of phrase, but overall, this is disappointingly thin stuff.