Reviews

The Business by Iain Banks

iskanderjonesiv's review against another edition

3.0

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.

**

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

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.

jessica_patient's review against another edition

3.0

The premise of this book sounds great - a business that has been running for thousands of years, and now want to own a country so they can have a UN seat. It starts great and pulls you in to the story but then it starts to go down hill - the ending is rushed, way too many characters - yes a novel can have a cast of thousands but we don't want to know all of their names, too much talking and not enough showing. More could have been done with the first person narrative. There were parts that were repeating as if the reader might forget.

But I liked the writing style - I read it all the way to the end and the premise was intriguing. The start of the novel is great but there is alot of build-up - either the novel needed to have been longer or the beginning need to be sliced and diced. I really enjoyed the background about the 'Business.'

aga_acrobat's review against another edition

2.0

This was probably the shallowest thing I've read in a long time that managed to entertain me for the entire ride. Can't decide whether I liked it. Mostly indifferent about it though.

eml28's review against another edition

3.0

I really struggle with books where I don't like the protagonist and this was one of those...

ssofia_reads's review against another edition

3.0

Rating: 2.5 stars rounded up.

What did I just read? This book was a very strange experience.

This book has the feel of a satire. I most definitely would not classify it as a thriller despite some descriptions choosing to advertise it as one.

We have Kathryn Telman, a career-focused Scottish woman in her late thirties, who is the first-person narrator of the book. She comes from humble origins but was adopted as a child and this transformed her career prospects, having enabled her to eventually climb the ranks in the Business.

In the first part of the book, we learn about Kathryn and a little bit about the Business and some of the organisation's key players. We get introduced to major relationship drama. We then follow Kathryn around the world as she goes where the Business tells her to but increasingly heads out on solo excursions as she is convinced there is something fishy going on within the Business and she is determined to expose it. Here we get snapshots of events and interactions but often these are not connected in a coherent manner. The witty, engaging dialogue is there but it doesn't come together as anything that advances the plot or helps build towards a climax.

It feels like Banks is trying to cover too much ground. There are a lot of characters who mostly get introduced during parties and dinners so we get a whole load of new names in one go making it very difficult to remember and keep track of them all. Some appear for this introductory moment and then never turn up again and it makes one wonder why Banks decided to use a full page or two to describe someone who didn't really have a role at all.

The book could also really have done with more coverage of the Business itself. Although we get a description of sorts of the structure of this organisation, Banks has decided to keep the aims and objectives vague. This is possibly because he wants the reader to only feel like a member of the general public when it comes to understanding what the Business really is and what it does. However, this made it difficult to really get one's teeth stuck in. Through the entire novel I felt that I was floating on the sidelines and couldn't really get into the book. It was a struggle to motivate myself to pick the book back up and keep reading.

The ending was just a big, big flop for me. It was abrupt and strange and this directly impacted my chosen rating for this book.

rdmathison's review against another edition

5.0

With The Business, Iain Banks has once again cemented his position as a master storyteller, as well as one of my absolute favorites. Though the narrative begins as a slow burn, it's the intricacy and depth that Banks infuses into his storytelling that truly grips the reader. The erudite prose and intelligent dialogues are both captivating and intellectually stimulating, making the journey worth every page.

Kate, our formidable protagonist, is a triumph of character development. Despite her immense wealth, she is both relatable and aspirational, navigating the complex world of the titular Business with grace and acumen. It's refreshing to encounter a character as vivid and compelling as Kate, who stands out not just for her corporate achievements but for her personal resilience and adaptability.

The Business itself, as an entity, is a testament to Banks' exceptional world-building capabilities. Its lore is deep, multi-layered, and reflects the underbelly of global commerce and power in ways that are both enlightening and at times, chilling.

What truly stands out in this novel, however, is its unexpected culmination. After a methodical setup that takes its time, the climax is startlingly different from what one might predict, proving Banks' prowess in subverting expectations.

In conclusion, The Business is a masterclass in sophisticated storytelling. It not only entertains but also challenges the reader, prompting deep thought and reflection on the interplay of power, commerce, and ambition.

tomfairfax's review against another edition

3.0

A novel that threatens to be a mystery but in the end devolves to a discussion of moral choices. The central questions are familiar to anyone reading Iain Banks' work: what do people do when they have so much money or power that they can effectively do anything. Banks' narrative highlights many of his private passions and the things that perhaps he would have done had he possessed the wealth of the titular organisation. In the end the core mystery peters out a little quickly and unsatisfactorily in my opinion, but there's plenty to keep the pages turning.

allegedly_miri's review against another edition

2.0

Not what I’ve come to expect from Banks. It was bloated and dry - full of unlikable characters who didn’t really stir any kind of emotion in any situation. Still readable, with glimmers of potential. But even the conclusion lets this one down and I can’t help feeling he could have gone so much further in fewer pages.

tarsel's review against another edition

mysterious

4.0

Inventive and complex; Banks' imagination is unlimited.

nv6acaat's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.5