" I believe in the democracy of storytelling , " said McCann in an interview . " I love the fact that our stories can cross all sorts of borders and boundaries . " " The best writers attempt to become alternative historians , " McCann said . " My sense of the Great Depression is guided by the works of Doctorow , for instance . My perception of Dublin in the early 20th century is almost entirely guided by my reading of ' Ulysses . ' " " I think it is our job , as writers , to be epic . Epic and tiny at the same time . If you 're going to be a fiction writer , why not take on something that means something , " McCann said in an interview . " In doing this , you must understand that within that epic structure it is the tiny story that is possibly more important . " His short story " Everything in this Country Must " was made into a short film directed by Gary McKendry . It was nominated for an Academy Award in 2005 . His 2009 novel '' Let the Great World Spin '' is an allegory of 9/11 using the true story of Philippe Petit as a " pull-through metaphor " . J. J. Abrams discussed working with McCann to make the novel in to a movie
9/11
September 11 attacks
Colum McCann