Always a joy to read work by Adichie. Very engaging and interesting read. Very well developed and ambitious. Will be recommending to library collection and patrons.

Dream Count is unlike any book I’ve ever read. On the surface, the story follows four West African women whose lives intersect. Chia, who opens and closed the book, interacts with the other three: Zikora is her best friend, Omelogor is her cousin, and Kadiatou is her maid.. Adichie sets up the narrative by showing Chia alone in her apartment during the pandemic, reflecting on the many relationships she’s had with men in her life (her “Dream Count”). We hear each of the other women’s stories in subsequent chapters; the book is divided into 5 sections, one for each of the four and a final section where Chia returns and helps the others tie up some loose ends.

The structure of the book was somewhat confusing to me. The time line flowed back and forth through the pandemic, although it was never clear why it was set there. Each section featured one of the women, but did not overlap significantly with the others although they popped up in each other’s stories from time to time. The most compelling story was Kadiatou’s, and I was very happy she reappeared later to wrap up her story. Overarching themes were the role of Nigerian women in society, women’s relationships with their mothers and other women, and their relationships with men.

Despite some frustration with the structure, I was bowled over by Adichie’s language - so rich and evocative I found myself lingering over individual sentences, at times reading them aloud. I also learned a lot about African tribal culture and attitudes toward women and men - noting that each of the women experienced these differently depending on their place in society and their familial relationships.

Many thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Probably a lovely novel. I simply found myself bored only 8% in. I will likely revisit the novel to try to complete it.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Adichie is a well-known writer with an ability to create immersive experience for readers. Her characters feel real and even though we start with a first person narrative, the story never feels suffocating. The patience that she takes in creating the world and weaving together a world is captivating. While the pandemic may not have been the best times for any of us, this story takes us back into what that life was like and the complexities of navigating a multi-cultural experience.

I enjoyed this book overall and rated it four stars. It is broken into four long chapters, each featuring a different woman and her story of love, dreams and desires. If I were to summarize what this book is about, I would say it's about the strength of women and all the ways this world can break your heart and put you back together again. I enjoyed the character development and felt invested in their stories, but I did hope for a little more interconnectedness in their stories. The women are friends and they know and support each other. However, their stories do not come full circle if that is what the reader is hoping for. Nevertheless, this book is well written and well thought out. There were moments of prose that stayed with me long after the scene was over. While reading this book, I felt as if I were sitting next to each of these women, living life along with them. This book felt alive in the truest sense. This book explores themes of happiness and love. Can we ever be truly happy? How do we really find love and be loved in return? Well done, Adichie. You made us wait for another novel, but the wait was worth it!

I continue to be entertained by seeing the different paces at which authors write, as expressed in how long it takes for them to write a Covid novel. (This is barely a Covid novel, as it's got a LOT more things it's interested in talking about, but still.)

I think I may appreciate this novel more than I liked it, per se - Adichie paints some beautiful portraits of the several women whose stories the book rotates between telling, but my enjoyment of the book was more in the sense of an interest in the different points of view and showcases of cultural interplay that I don't often read about, rather than a particular interest in what was happening or going to happen on a plot level. The exception to that was the plot thread that seemed to be the <i>raison d'etre</i> of the book in the first place, based on Adichie's afterword, centered around a fictionalized re-telling of the alleged sexual assault of a Guinean woman, Nafissatou Diallo, by former head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and its legal aftermath. Even those unfamiliar with the details of that particular case will probably see where that's going to go (based on the general history of legal cases involving rich, influential white men on one side, and women, immigrants, or minorities on the other, but also based on the meta level of whether an author would choose to highlight a miscarriage of justice or an instance where the justice system "got it right") but Adichie handles the human side of that story with particular deftness and takes it some interesting places.

I did not find this book engaging. I tired quickly of the many romantic attempts Chiamaka made at meaningful human interaction. I persevered to Zikora but did not find her story any more inspiring. I was not interested in continuing to read the stories of the other girls. I did not find Adichie's writing engaging. It was like she was just telling stories without passion. Others may love her works but this one was just not for me.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

The story of four Nigerian women connected through various relationships and jobs, all of whom are struggling with different obstacles in their pursuit of happiness. There were moments of beautiful prose but the pacing was so slow and not all of the perspectives held my interest equally. A well written book with important things to say - just missing that special element that made some of her others all time favorites for me.

This book follows 4 African women, 3 living in the United States, through their relationships with men. Each woman's story is told separately in long uninterrupted chapters with parts overlapping as other women's stories are told. Overall it was hard to enjoy this book, perhaps because of the women's choices in men and maybe because I would have preferred multiple shorter alternating, interwoven chapters. I found Kadi's story the most compelling. I did not care for the blog posts by Omelogor - she was a fun, interesting character and I didn't find them necessary. A discussable book but I think it will take perseverance for some readers to finish it

Four Nigerian women, whose lives are interwoven, are on different paths yet share the same longing for happiness. Chimaka, a travel writer living in the United States, begins to reflect on her journey during the pandemic, delving into deep introspection about her past relationships. Her best friend Zikora, a lawyer also living in the U.S., is successful but single, yearning for something more. Omelogor, thriving in her career as a Nigerian banker, has a wide social circle but is rethinking her life now that she is past her childbearing years. Kadiatou, Chimaka’s housekeeper, has faced many challenges. As a young widow, she moved to the U.S. with her daughter to start a new life.

In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Dream Count, the lives of these four women are vividly portrayed through her beautiful prose. Despite their differences, they share common concerns and challenges, such as love, family, and friendship, as each faces pivotal moments in their lives. They experience both joy and profound sorrow. The pandemic's emergence as a backdrop adds an intriguing element to the unfolding story. Each character is multi-layered and vulnerable, with Omelogor being the most complex and Kadiatou the one I cared the most about. This is a deeply moving book that requires the right mindset before delving into it.

4.25 stars.

DNF at 16%.

The prose and strength of the writing this novel is phenomenal, and I want to pick up Adichie's other novels. However, the style of this story was not for me. I understand why the story is broken into several parts, but not having chapters within the parts made it quite difficult for me to stay focused. I may try to pick this back up when it is released, but right now I have to put it down.

This novel is a masterpiece. Adichie’s approach to the socio-economic issues that underly societal and individual values is benignly honest and forthright. She highlights the uneven distributions of wealth and justice, with wealthy individuals being literally above the law while the marginalized and poor are vilified for attempting to seek justice. What is heartwarming is the pivotal role mothers play in the lives of their daughters. There is an inexplicable emotional and physical bond between them that withstands the test of time. I am so grateful I got to read this book early and I will definitely be rereading it soon. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Dream Count (publication day March 4, 2025) is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first novel since 2013's Americanah. Like Americanah, the setting of Dream Count goes back and forth between the United States and Nigeria, but Dream Count follows four African women, three living in the United States and one in Nigeria.

Chiamaka's story begins and ends the book, during the pandemic lockdown. She is a travel writer, daughter of a wealthy Nigerian family who is able to travel independently and does not need to make a living from her writing. She has dated widely, has had relationships with men all over the world, of all nationalities, but still yearns to be truly known. Her good friend is Zikora, whose story begins when she is in labor. She is also Nigerian, a lawyer at a large firm in the U.S., who was left by her boyfriend when he found out she was pregnant. Her mother, who she hasn't really been close to, comes for the birth, and Zikora learns more about her mother, who is the head of a primary school, than she knew from her memories.

The heart of the novel is Kadiatou--Kadi's story. Kadi cleans and takes care of Chiamaka's house while she travels. She is from Republic of Guinea, and a lot of her story is told as a flashback to her childhood and early life there, where she lost her father in a mining accident early, and she and her sister were forced to undergo female genital mutilation. Her sister dies during a medical procedure, and she is forced to marry, though the man she loves, Amadou, has gone to the United States. Kadi becomes pregnant, but her husband also dies in a mining accident. She names her daughter after her sister, learns how to cook, and lives with an aunt. Eventually Amadou returns for her, and she seeks asylum, which is granted by the United States. There, she finds out that not everything is like Amadou has said, and he ends up in prison on a drug charge. But Kadi meets Chiamaka, works at a hotel as a maid, and is happy with her life, as her daughter is doing well and living an American life. But then Kadi is assaulted by an important hotel guest, and her life spirals out of control with the U.S. justice system and how sexual assault victims are treated by it.

Finally, the last woman whose perspective we get is Omelogor, although we've seen her from the others' perspectives from the very beginning. Omelogor is Chiamaka's cousin, and has stayed in Nigeria, working in banking. She did spend some time in graduate school in the United States, but the cultural differences were too difficult and she became depressed. Her best friend is Jide, a gay man who can't be out in Nigeria, and Omelogor hosts dinner parties for various groups of friends. She is in deep in the financial world in Nigeria, laundering money for very important people, but she finds a way to use it to help women in her home village. She is steely and uncompromising, but when an aunt says she can't be happy living the life she is living, single and childless in her mid-40s, she really thinks about it.

I enjoyed learning the four different perspectives these women had of the world and how the each dealt with what was happening, with the pandemic, and with what happened to Kadi. It was not plot-driven, but I felt that Adichie really delved deeply into each character.

I believe it is generally fat positive, as Omelogor is "blessed in the front and back" and Kadi mentions how Amadou loves her wide hips, but diet culture has creeped in somewhat as there is mention of "hip dips" and Kadi not wanting to be "too big." So I'm going to categorize it as "Mixed fat positive and anti-fat."

This is beautiful writing but I found the story lacking, especially the second half. It was slow and difficult to get through. I hope others enjoy it more than I did.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a mixed third and first person multi-POV literary novel exploring the experiences of Nigerian women, some of whom live in America. Chiamaka is a woman entering middle age who is realizing that she hasn’t gotten everything she really wanted despite her success. Zikora explores her faith and her desire to have a child. Kadiatou eventually moves to America with her young child, Binta, to be with the love of her life but things never go as smoothly as we plan. Omelogor still lives in Nigeria and is growing increasingly concerned as COVID looms closer and closer.

The most uncomfortable POV was, without a doubt, Kadiatou’s. We have a scene that is the most in depth scene of female circumcision that I have encountered in any media. It’s brief and more focused on Kadiatou's feelings rather than graphic details, but it was still overwhelming and very poignant. There is something very powerful in being in the POV of someone who is experiencing this and the uncomfortable atmosphere that Adichie creates around it while still recognizing why it was done (so Kadiatou and her sister could get married). Kadiatou is also sexually assaulted and how it’s depicted is done in a way to respect the character and recognize her fear and how fast something like this happens as well as the trauma of reporting assault and the way you feel violated when evidence is being taken. It is a lot but it is the most powerful POV.

I really loved Zikora’s POV because of how much it discusses her Catholic faith and her feelings around the various Popes and her desire to have a child. I was raised Catholic and have been trying to get my hands on as many POVs discussing the Catholic faith because so much of what has been readily available to me is Roman Catholic American and that doesn’t even begin to cover the depth of the roots the Church has planted over the world. I had no idea that Pope John Paul visited Nigeria and that it was such a historic visit. I learned a lot from Zikora’s POV.

The major themes are motherhood, the Nigerian and Nigerian diaspora experience, dating outside your culture vs dating within your culture, tradition vs modernity, and the way America views Nigeria. Every theme is explored by all four of the POVs but in very different ways. We follow Kadiatou for almost the full length of her life so we see her being a child and then becoming a mother and it’s contrasted with Chia and Zikora realizing they are getting older and it’s getting more difficult for them to have children while Omelogor doesn’t want kids at all but she doesn’t want the option taken from her. By using four very different women with very different wants and needs who are connected, we get to see the complexities and how there is no universal experience even if there are shared ones.

Content warning for depictions of sexual assault and female circumcision, cheating, anti-Semitism, racism, and mentions of abortion.

I would recommend this to readers looking for in depth looks at the lives of Nigerian women and the diaspora and readers of literary fiction looking for something that doesn’t shy away from difficult conversations

This is beautifully written, character driven literary fiction that follows four African women in Nigeria and the United States. Each section tells one of the women’s stories with interconnected storylines throughout. The focus is on interpersonal relationships, predominantly with the men in their lives, but also includes a lovely mother-daughter relationship. The book explores themes of identity, culture, American and Nigerian politics, immigration, class, race, and finding one’s place in the world. The strongest
storyline for me was Kadiatou and I would have preferred a whole book from her perspective— this was also the subject of the authors note at the end which made it even more poignant. The novel opens and closes with Chia’s perspective, which was my least favorite of the four perspectives. Her storyline felt more like a litany of all her male relationships. The final section detracted from my overall enjoyment of the novel for this reason and I wished we could have ended with Kadiatou or Omelegor, which would have bumped this to a 5 star read.

I still highly recommend this novel for those who love strong character development, exceptional writing, and a culturally rich experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

The story about four Nigerian women who are all connected - Chiamaka, Zikora, Kadiatou, and Omelogor - their lives, dreams, realities, relationships. While this is a novel, the structure of the book felt more like loosely connected short stories. Despite the fact that each of the women are strong and have forged their paths (with the exception of Kadiatou although she admirably stands up for herself), they struggle with self doubts, isolation, reflections of past relationships and being mired in current unfulfilled ones. It took me quite awhile to get through this book, unlike the author’s other books that have kept me engrossed and riveted. I missed experiencing the author’s beautiful lyricism and superb command of the language as I’ve experienced in her previous works. While a bit disappointed, I’m glad I read this book, for how could I not read a. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie book? It just was not as wonderful a read as her other books, which were five-star reads with the exception of two that were four star reads. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Magnificent. A must-read. My first five-star read of 2025.

As I was reading this book, I thought to myself, if given a school assignment to write about this book, what would I choose? The diverse cultures of Nigeria? Female friendships? Comparing gender roles in different cultures? Gender expectations? Social structures? The "American dream"? Tradition? Love? What success is? Justice? Forgiveness? Love?

My mind was spinning with each page - so much to think about it was delightfully dizzying. Adichie is a master story teller. Every sentence felt thoughtful and smart and needed.

Take your time while you read this one. And you must read this one. Brilliant.

Heartfelt thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf/Pantheon/Vintage/Anchor for the advanced reader copy.

3.5 stars

Adichie is back with an expansive novel, this time about four different women connected by their African heritage and time in the U.S. I loved AMERICANAH and was looking forward to the same level of writing and characterization. DREAM COUNT was a more uneven story. The book started strong with Chia's and Zikora's stories. While I thought Kadi's story was compelling, it didn't feel like it was connected to the previous stories. And Omelogor was the least interesting (and least sympathetic) character; her section was one I skimmed, hoping that we'd come back to either Chia or Zikora in the end. While the writing was still the lush, finely honed language I've come to expect of Adichie, but the structure of the different sections remained disjointed.

Dream Count is out March 4, 2025

Adichie is a beautiful writer and I really enjoyed this book. We waited four years for it and it did not disappoint! It paints a nuanced picture of four Nigerian and Nigerian-American women. It is absolutely a character study book and if you like Americanah, you will probably love this too.