It reimagines one of the Bamiyan Buddhas, colossal sixth-century statues that once stood in central Afghanistan before being destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. Today, those Buddhas exist only as empty niches carved into a cliff. Carved from sandstone, the High Line version isn't a replica. It's an homage-described as an "echo"-meant to summon memory rather than recreate history. The title references the nickname locals once gave the larger Bamiyan Buddha: "Salsal" which translates to "the light shines through the universe."
Christine Estima's first novel Letters to Kafka tells the story of unhappily married Milena Jesenska, who starts writing letters back and forth to Franz Kafka, evolving into an affair which captures them. After first learning about Jesenska, Estima felt compelled to dig into her story, learning that she was a courageous journalist, translator and resister of the Nazi regime.