London-based Pakistani P.I. Tommy Akhtar is the protag of Patrick Neate's novel City of Tiny Lights (titled after the Zappa tune) and he's being interrogated by CIA agent Chip Paradowski in an interrogation room in a UK police station and Chip keeps annoying Tommy by calling him "son."
"This wasn't the English version of the word as in 'my son' as in 'mate' as in 'like-minded individual,' this was the patronizing American version as in 'Just you remember who you're talking to, son.' 'Son?' I doubted the geezer was even as old as me and I knew he hadn't seen anything like the reality of yours truly . . . . Paradowski sighed. He adjusted his position and crossed his legs. 'Look, son, can I be straight with you?' 'Sure, Dad.' "
New York: Penguin, 2005, p. 203.
No comments:
Post a Comment