The Business

Historical Context and Significance

Ian Banks’s «The Business» is a subtle and ironic response to the pivotal era at the end of the twentieth century, when globalization, corporate power, and the blurring of national borders became integral to everyday life. In this novel, Banks masterfully weaves together motifs of ancient traditions and modern ambitions, creating the image of a mysterious organization existing outside time and space. The book serves as a kind of mirror for a society where power and money intertwine with personal quests for meaning and identity. «The Business» influenced cultural discourse, prompting readers to reflect on the nature of corporate ethics, the role of women in the world of big money, and how easily grand structures can absorb individuality. Banks’s novel not only expanded the boundaries of the intellectual thriller genre but also became a significant milestone in understanding the new realities of the post-industrial world, where the personal and the public, the ancient and the modern, collide in an ongoing dialogue.