Colum McCann: It feels entirely like I’ve done right thing

Colum McCann believes in the redemptive power of storytelling so he set up Narrative 4 to foster empathy in communities beset by conflict. He spoke to Caroline O’Doherty about his hopes for it and his new book.

OF ALL the characters in Colum McCann’s latest collection, Sister Beverly does not immediately leap out as the one he’d likely feel the greatest connection with.

A former missionary nun, she’s getting on in years, beginning to forget things, sitting up too late into the small hours, and testing the abundant patience of her fellow sisters by burning the convent carpet with her sneaky cigarettes.