Navid Kermani's Despair Over Iran Conflict and New Book 'Sommer 24'

Navid Kermani, a German writer and intellectual, expresses profound hopelessness regarding the war in Iran, stating he never believed the regime would fall from the first bomb. He spoke during the Eventi Letterari literature festival in Ascona, Switzerland, where he discussed his new book 'Sommer 24', published by Hanser-Verlag in 2026. The work blends novel and essay forms, reflecting on political events permeating personal relationships, including a friendship with an AfD-voting Jew and a conflict with a woman named Julia over literary portrayal. Kermani, born in Siegen to Iranian immigrants, has reported from conflict zones like Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Syria, but finds this war uniquely distressing as it unfolds in his childhood landscapes. He describes a state of lethargy and paralysis since the outbreak on February 28, worsened by a massacre on January 8-9, 2026, which he calls the largest ever killing of demonstrants. Despite awards like the Thomas Mann Prize and near-election as German president, he struggles for words, publishing his first war commentary in Spiegel after persistent editing. Kermani recalls visiting Ayatollah Khomeiny near Paris in 1978, when the revolution seemed nonviolent, though family members were later executed under Khomeiny's rule. He plans to report from Sudan soon, maintaining his commitment despite personal turmoil, and quotes Rabbi Jizchak of Berditschew on a broken heart's wholeness.