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[eris esoteric]

Excerpt from "The Business" by Iain Banks. Used without permission, solely for the purpose of promoting a very funny read. Enjoy.

“Well, call me less than a perfect sister if I let one old guy I happen to like a lot briefly touch my bum through a couple of layers of material, the point is that I don’t count that as abuse.”
“But you don’t know!”
“I don’t know what?”
“You don’t know whether he abused you or not!”
“Yes, I do.”
“No, you don’t. You think you know that he didn’t but you don’t really know that he didn’t”
“Luce, I think we’re in the same boat here; neither of us knows what you’re talking about.
“I mean, maybe he did much worse things to you in the past and you’ve repressed all the grisly details and even the fact that it happened in the first place; you’re in denial about it all and it’s fucking you up!”
“But I’m not fucked up.”
“Ha! That’s what you think.”
“…You know, in principle this idiocy could go on forever.”
“Exactly! Unless you take some action to discover the truth.”
“Let me guess. And the only way to find out is to go to a shrink, right?”
“Well, of course!”
“Look, are you on commission or something?”
“I’m on Prozac, so what?”
“I prefer prosaic. What I remember is what happened. Look, I’m sorry I bothered you, Luce, I’ll –“
“Don’t hang up! Don’t hang up! Listen this must have been meant to happen, because I was just on my way… In fact, I’m here, I’m at the place. Now look, Kate, I just think there’s somebody here that you need to talk to, okay? Now just a second. Hi. Yeah. Yeah. That’s right. L. T. Shrowe. Listen, I got somebody here on the phone I think really needs to talk to Dr. Pegging, you know?”
“Luce? Luce! Don’t you dare!”
“May I? He is? Oh, great.”
“Luce, don’t you fucking dare! I’m not – I won’t – I’m putting the phone down!”
“Hi, Doctor. Yeah, it’s good to see you, it really is. Look, I realize this is kinda weird, but I have this friend, right?”
“Luce! Luce! Listen to me, goddammit! This had better be a joke. You had better be in the fucking supermarket or your manicurist’s or something because I’m not going to—“
“Hello?”
“…ah.”
“Who am I speaking to?”
I looked through narrowed eyes at the far side of my room. Okay, I thought. I said, “Oh, like, gee, are you another, like weirdo?”
“I beg your pardon? My name is Dr. Richard Pegging. I’m a psychoanalyst here in San Jose. And who might you be?”
“San Jose? Jeez, isn’t that in, like, California or someplace?”
“Well, yes.”
“Okay, listen, Doc, like, if your really are, like, a doc, sorta like you said, then, like, I’m really sorry, okay? But, I mean, this woman, that woman who just like, handed you the phone?”
“Yes?”
“Well, she’s been calling me know for a coupla months. I mean, the first time she must justa dialed at random or something or got me out of some book, I dunno. Oh, sorry, My name’s Linda? Linda Sinkowitz? I live here in Tuna County, Florida? And I’m just like, here, you know? And then one day I get this phone call and it’s this woman Lucy something and she thinks I’m her best fucking friend or something, excuse my language, and I tell her she must have, like made a mistake only it goes on way too long for it really to be a mistake but so okay she calls me and that’s fine but then a few weeks later it all happens again and this is, like, the – Jeez, I don’t know – the ninth or tenth time or something, right but if this happens again I’m going to have to tell the phone company. I mean, you—“
“That’s quite alright. That’s fine, that’s fine. I think I get the picture, Ms Sinkowitz. Well, it’s been nice talking to you. Hopefully you won’t be—“
“Kate!”
“Ms Shrowe, if you don’t mind—“
“Doc, do you mind? It’s my fucking phone! Thank you. Kate? Kate? What the fuck’s this about Ms Sinkowitz?”
“Have a nice session, Luce.”

[eris esoteric]

Just checking (forum's being weird again.)

[pippadaisy[$]]

[eris esoteric]

And since I can't seem to edit out the amazon code from the beginning, the title of the book is "The Business," the author is Iain Banks, and it's a satire about "the business" that really *has* been running everything since ancient Egyptian times.

[Dory]

[eris esoteric]

The rest of the book is really good too. I tried talking the boyfriend into reading it, but he says he's "britished out" lately.

[phoenixx]