The Business
Registered by abitstormyout of Ely, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on 10/21/2007
This book is in a Controlled Release!
This book is in a Controlled Release!
2 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by abitstormyout from Ely, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Sunday, October 21, 2007
Amazon.co.uk Review:
After the shock impact of the excellent The Wasp Factory in 1984, Iain Banks' work has split along two lines. On the one hand, he has written a series of acclaimed science fiction novels (with a devoted following, their own fan magazine and inclusion of his middle initial); on the other hand, a number of diverse, and eclectic, forays into contemporary fiction (for example, the successful television adaptation of The Crow Road).
The Business is the 1990s success story run riot. The eponymous organisation is ancient, rich and invisible. All it lacks is a certain political clout, something the Business has avoided for centuries but with which it is now beginning to toy. A seat in the UN is at stake as Kate Telman, Level 3 executive, is drawn into the (rather polite) machinations of her superiors. Those expecting John Grisham may be disappointed. No bad thing, perhaps: Kate's personal-professional life-- there is, of course, no conflict here for the successful individual of the 1990s--is the main concern. Banks' interest is in the moral debates about the position of the Business in a world it finds easy to manipulate, drawing the reader into a discussion of the place of the multi-national in contemporary economic and cultural life. "A lot of successful people are less hard-hearted than they like to think": is one view put forward, and not the only romantic but equivocal sentiment hiding somewhere in The Business. --John Shire
After the shock impact of the excellent The Wasp Factory in 1984, Iain Banks' work has split along two lines. On the one hand, he has written a series of acclaimed science fiction novels (with a devoted following, their own fan magazine and inclusion of his middle initial); on the other hand, a number of diverse, and eclectic, forays into contemporary fiction (for example, the successful television adaptation of The Crow Road).
The Business is the 1990s success story run riot. The eponymous organisation is ancient, rich and invisible. All it lacks is a certain political clout, something the Business has avoided for centuries but with which it is now beginning to toy. A seat in the UN is at stake as Kate Telman, Level 3 executive, is drawn into the (rather polite) machinations of her superiors. Those expecting John Grisham may be disappointed. No bad thing, perhaps: Kate's personal-professional life-- there is, of course, no conflict here for the successful individual of the 1990s--is the main concern. Banks' interest is in the moral debates about the position of the Business in a world it finds easy to manipulate, drawing the reader into a discussion of the place of the multi-national in contemporary economic and cultural life. "A lot of successful people are less hard-hearted than they like to think": is one view put forward, and not the only romantic but equivocal sentiment hiding somewhere in The Business. --John Shire
Journal Entry 2 by abitstormyout at The Purple Dog, Eld Lane in Colchester, Essex United Kingdom on Thursday, October 25, 2007
Released 16 yrs ago (10/26/2007 UTC) at The Purple Dog, Eld Lane in Colchester, Essex United Kingdom
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
To the Colchester Meet with ye!
To the Colchester Meet with ye!
Wow, what a small world! I was in the St Helena Hospice shop on Queen's Street Colchester buying 2 plastic swords for the kids when I had a little browse of the books. Picked 3, this Iain Banks being one of them. I wonder how it got from the Purple Dog Pub to the Hospice Shop. I also have released at the Purple Dog! I'll read it soon and then review and release. See you on Twitter!!!
Just finished it today. Loved it! Absolutely loved it. Can't wait to read more of his stuff. I'll update when I decide where to release this. I might try the Fox in Layer.
Released this to my friend Rosie who came to dinner with her husband Keim. Enjoy it and hope you leave a journal entry!
