Anaram - Boundless Light

Anaram is an Afghan girl whose name means Boundless Light. One morning, in the turmoil of the Afghanistan conflict in the 2000s, she is seriously injured and receives first aid from German Bundeswehr soldiers. Anaram's father is fighting on the Taliban side and arrives at the scene together with two other Taliban fighters. By chance, the situation is captured by a war reporter. The resulting photo goes on to win the prize for best war photograph of the year.

In a series of fictional short stories, the author sketches the personal and emotional backgrounds of the protagonists. The lamenting mother who fears losing her last child to the war. German soldiers who have left their civilian lives for an overseas deployment where they are involved in violent skirmishes and suffer physical and psychological injuries. Taliban and the inhabitants of a valley who are trying to survive somewhere in northern Afghanistan.

The book was published in German in 2022 and translated into English by Katie Truslove.