Johnson scatters many metafictional elements throughout the novel, often for comedic effect. Characters frequently mention in passing that they know that they are works of fiction, such as when Malry's mother says to him that she has been his mother for the purposes of the novel (27), or when Christie complains that the novel contains too many exclamation marks (166). Johnson also frequently emphasizes the written, and thereby invented, nature of the text. Following Malry's poisoning of a reservoir, Johnson writes: