Colum McCann, novelist: 'John Berger always remains by the bedside'

For our 'One Minute With' series, the author discusses abattoir metaphors, John Wray, and writing in small spaces

McCann says: 'I live a relatively tame life and most of my madnesses are lived out in my own fictional characters'

Where are you now and what can you see?

United Flight 24, from Shannon to Newark, seat 40A. I wish I could tell you that I could see a spectacular sunrise outside, but the fact is that I'm in the back row, cattle class, beside a rather hip-heavy man who looks intent on taking over the empty middle seat too. I'm obsessed by the other hefty bloke in front of me and when he might lean his chair back and complete the abattoir metaphor.

What are you currently reading?

I'm deep into a proof copy of The Lost Time Accidents by John Wray. It's a wonderful rattlebag of a novel, jumping backwards and forwards in time and geography. (The seat just reclined, I am offically encased over the Atlantic).

Choose a favourite author and say why you admire her/him

(I am back in my New York apartment.) Anyway, John Berger always remains by the bedside no matter what. For 50 years, he has been prepared to go where others don't. I asked him once where he came from and he told me he was "a patriot of elsewhere".

Describe the room where you usually write

I write squeezed into a cupboard space in my home office. I like the occasional clarity of vision a small space can bring.

Which fictional character most resembles you?

I live a relatively tame life and most of my madnesses are lived out in my own fictional characters. I wouldn't mind being Stephen Dedalus or even Molly Bloom, but I'm more likely to be Leopold I'm afraid.

Who is your hero/heroine from outside literature?

From both outside and inside literature, Arundhati Roy is one of the most necessary voices of our time.

Colum McCann's new short story collection, 'Thirteen Ways of Looking', is published by Bloomsbury, £16.99