'A poisoned bonbon, a bitter fairy tale' Independent 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. ...
Read More
'A poisoned bonbon, a bitter fairy tale' Independent 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. Praise for Iain Banks: 'The most imaginative novelist of his generation' The Times 'His verve and talent will always be recognised, and his work will always find and enthral new readers' Ken MacLeod, Guardian 'His work was mordant, surreal, and fiercely intelligent' Neil Gaiman 'An exceptional wordsmith' Scotsman
Read Less
Add this copy of The Business to cart. $4.53, fair condition, Sold by Orion Tech rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2001 by Little, Brown Book Group.
Add this copy of The Business to cart. $10.99, very good condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 2013 by Abacus.
Add this copy of The Business to cart. $20.26, new condition, Sold by Booksplease rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southport, MERSEYSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2013 by Abacus.
Add this copy of The Business to cart. $22.60, new condition, Sold by Kennys.ie rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Galway, IRELAND, published 2013 by Abacus.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New. 2013. Paperback. * Contemporary-and how! -novel by 'the most imaginative British novelist of his generation'-The Times Num Pages: 400 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 198 x 127 x 26. Weight in Grams: 318......We ship daily from our Bookshop.
Add this copy of The Business to cart. $38.32, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hialeah, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2013 by Abacus.
Add this copy of The Business to cart. $67.54, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hialeah, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2013 by Abacus.
I'm not sure what possessed me to pick this book up, except perhaps the description of the book as a corporate satire about a company that goes back to Roman times that essentially has its finger in every conceivable industry around the world.
The most interesting part of the story is that it's told by the main character, Kathryn Telman. Her voice is a good one, acerbic and intelligent and - at least from this guy's perspective - honest. It sounds like a woman, albeit an edgy one with a vocal lack of maternal instinct. (And in truth, her love for another character never wholly rings true, as if this was difficult for Banks to pull off so he just largely avoided it, despite it being a major plot point.)
The downside of the book is...the plot is very flimsy. It's a clever book, and the plot is there - but it is held together loosely and involves some characters we don't see enough to understand their relevance. In some ways, this might have even worked better as a movie than a book for that reason, and that's probably not a great compliment.
Enjoyable? Yes. Would I read another book by Banks (who, I've discovered, is much more known for science fiction)? Probably not.
