The Ambassador's Wife Quotes

“things get a little too hairy for you, send up a flare and Uncle John will come running to save your beautiful butt just like he always has. You hear me, girl?” Cally stared at August in silence for what must have been a minute or more, which Tay thought was quite a long time to stare at somebody without saying anything. Then she did say something. “I don’t need you for that anymore, John.”
― Jake Needham, The Ambassador's Wife

“An escorted basis?” Tay asked. “Authorized embassy personnel must be with you at all times.” “What happens if I have to go to the bathroom?” The young marine didn’t smile. “I hear that one every day, sir.” God, what’s wrong with these people? Don’t any of them have a sense of humor?”
― Jake Needham, The Ambassador's Wife

“was hot out there, and sweaty. When he walked places rather than taking a taxi, he generally arrived at his destination with his shirt plastered to his back. Still, he thought it was worth it. He would have preferred walking in a cooler place, of course, but then he would not have the warm nights he loved so much, nights when the air itself seemed alive with possibilities. Maybe there was a city somewhere on earth that had cool days and warm nights.”
― Jake Needham, The Ambassador's Wife

“Tay glanced at Evans, whose short hair and well-scrubbed face unmistakably marked him as another American. So far, Tay thought, this had all the makings of an authentically crappy day. First the stupid building, and now all these Americans.”
― Jake Needham, The Ambassador's Wife

“The Singapore Marriott was a thirty-three story octagonal-shaped tower crowned by a gigantic Chinese-style roof that loomed over the corner of Scotts and Orchard Roads, the busiest intersection in the city. The roof was no doubt supposed to soften the building’s appearance by making it look vaguely reminiscent of a traditional Chinese pagoda. Tay thought that was ridiculous. What it really made the building look like was a giant dildo. Worse, the stupid roof was green with something right at its peak that resembled a red pom-pom. The Marriott not only looked like a giant dildo, it looked like a giant dildo wearing a green rubber with a red tip on it.”
― Jake Needham, The Ambassador's Wife

“not to say anything to Kang when Sergeant Lee caught up and slid into the back seat. “They’re getting into a taxi, sir,” Kang said from the driver’s seat as the door closed. Tay decided any discussion with Kang of modern sexuality in Singapore could wait for a more convenient time. “Don’t lose him, Robbie.” “No, sir. I won’t.” Tay leaned back in his seat as Sergeant Kang pulled away. He still didn’t have the first idea how to play this, but he supposed not much would happen as long as DeSouza and his friend were in a taxi.”
― Jake Needham, The Ambassador's Wife

“Surely, even in a world apparently turned enthusiastically relativistic in nearly all matters of belief and conviction, at least this single principle of physiological, if not moral, certainty still held true. There were men and there were women, and there were straights and there were gays. And that was that.”
― Jake Needham, The Ambassador's Wife

“She was expected to recover, but the prognosis was uncertain as to whether she might have”
― Jake Needham, The Ambassador's Wife

“To tell the truth, Tay didn’t like anywhere in Thailand very much. Beneath its veneer of exotic cuisine, extravagant temples, and saintly monks lay the dark heart of a country that lived off very little but sex and greed.”
― Jake Needham, The Ambassador's Wife