Embassy Tales – Memoirs of a Malaysian Diplomat’s Wife

A humourous and moving testimony to the art of traditional diplomacy that has faded in an age of screens and digital conversations.

Embassy Tales is an intensely personal and perceptive account of Christine Sathiah’s life as the wife of a senior Malaysian diplomat (Dato’ Renji Sathiah) spanning three decades and nine different countries, where she was witness to historical events and upheavals including war in Cambodia and Perestroika in the USSR.

Part memoir, part travelogue, Embassy Tales is a vivid kaleidoscope of hilarious moments and tragedy; good people and villains; moving encounters as well as interminably boring cocktail receptions. Throughout, Christine Sathiah casts a perceptive and sympathetic look at the foibles and idiosyncrasies of diplomatic life: its protocol strictures and absurdities; the heartaches of leaving friends behind and settling into new environments; and the challenges of navigating different international settings.