Review: "Papa Drew a Thousand Birds" by Maren Amini and Ahmadjan Amini

Papa Drew a Thousand Birds by Maren Amini and Ahmadjan Amini
Translated to English by Marianne Martens
Published November 2026 via Levine Querido
★★★★

What a lovely and complex look at Afghanistan of the past. Papa Drew a Thousand Birds takes us through Ahmadjan Amini's childhood and upbringing in Afghanistan—a very different Afghanistan than the one in the news today. This is an Afghanistan that finds its way onto the hippie trail; one in which dreams of being an artist are, if not encouraged or even really tolerated, not really much more than an oddity that the family is embarrassed by.

Maren Amini, Ahmadjan's daughter and the first author listed here, shows up minimally in the book itself—the story is really about Ahmadjan's life up to a point before Maren is grown up—but the combination of what is in the book and the fact that the two wrote this together speaks volumes, more than an extended plotline could. There's a really wonderful, almost wordless call-back to Ahmadjan's childhood at one point when his own children are small, and it's such a perfect illustration of...where he was and how he understands it now.

The art is quite simple. It has a style that makes me think "European graphic novel", though unfortunately my language for graphic novels is limited and I can't really elaborate on why that's the case. I suppose I'd hoped for a bit more color (that cover!), but it's evocative despite the simplicity. Readers who are familiar with the epic poem "The Conference of the Birds" (I am not) will likely get even more out of this, but it's not necessary to have read the poem first. Would absolutely recommend.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.