McCall Smith similarly uses the Bible to fix the reader's attention.

McCall Smith does not render her realistically.

McCall Smith does not even give the scourge its name.

McCall Smith does not connect the dots.

Although McCall Smith declined to write the adaptation, he remained involved as an adviser and visited the set during production.

McCall Smith captures his characters and their traditional codes of behaviour effortlessly.

McCall Smith also cites the book as one of his favourite humorous books.

But McCall Smith saves the best for last.

McCall Smith thinks the two Christophers are so important to the story's context that he's done some research.