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.

"How slippery moralities are, how they circle and thin and change with circumstance."

I was so thankful and excited to receive Adichie's new novel for early review. I love Americanah and was pleased that this book lived up to my expectations set by that earlier novel. Chiamaka, Zikora, Kadiatou, and Omelogor were all such interesting characters. What I loved most about the structure of the novel was starting out during the 2020 lockdown, then going back in time and learning more about the characters and where/how they ended up in the places they currently are (both physically and metaphorically).

There were two quotes about the 2020 lockdown era of humanity that really stuck with me: “I felt as if all human progress was swiftly reversing to an ancient stage of confusion that should by now have been extinct” as well as “How could I possibly be both sluggish and restless?” I felt those!

To me, this book is in many ways about love, specifically the importance of being honest about love. Honesty with yourself regarding your wants and dreams and the motivations behind those; honesty with your friends and family about the realities of your actions and interactions; honest dialogue about the realities of humanity and nationality; I could go on but I do feel like this book really challenges its characters to be honest about the things/people they love.

I was really moved by the author's note at the time describing this book as being about her mother. After reading that I could very much see the way Adichie weaved her love and grief over the loss of her mother thorughout the book. One of the quotes that I feel encompasses the feeling of losing a loved one that I relate to is when Kadiatou is mourning the loss of a close relative and describes it as "mournful absence as tactile as presence" - I really feel that feeling the loss of someone is as present as if they were there in the room with you.

Thank you for this incredible reading experience!

4 ⭐️

DREAM COUNT by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chiamaka is the nexus that brings the reader these four women’s stories: Chiamaka, her cousin Omelogor, her best friend Zikora, and her family’s maid Kadiatou. Each is experiencing challenges, particularly related to men or motherhood against the backdrop of the beginning of the pandemic.

➕ I liked seeing the issues each woman was going through and being able to compare and contrast them.
➕ The writing is solid, as you would expect from this powerhouse of an author.

➖ While each of these women is experiencing different issues, I felt the “voice” of each narrator sounded similar. If I picked up the novel while in the middle of a narrator’s section, I had to use the issues of the narrator to figure out which section I was in.
➖ I wasn’t as invested in Omelogor’s section. Some sections felt very long-winded and too character-driven for even me.

Loved the writing with so many keen observations from the author. This read like separate novellas, which is a decent structure. I wish the “voice” of the novella subjects differed more from one another.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

It publishes March 4, 2025.

{3.5 stars}

Thanks to Knopf for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions below are my own.

I love the depth of which Adichie builds her characters. Like the books of hers I've read before, it was easy to slip into the lives of these women and feel immersed. That said, I didn't much like Chia, Zikora or Omelogor, if this book had been their stories alone, it’s a shrug at three stars. At its heart it’s a book about life not turning out how you hoped and the bald realities of how poorly we treat one another based on our preconceived notions of race and gender. Well worn roads but with the backdrop of COVID as a fulcrum for introspection,

Kadiatou's story however was a heartwrenching 5 stars. That had me so immersed I was upset when POVs changed. And then it ends so abruptly without the insight of being in her POV. I get this book wasn’t written “for” me, so there was probably some depth in the other POVs that I just didn’t get. It was just a bit long so I struggled with those sections at times.

This was a good book however I did not know a large focus would be on sexual assault. It was an interesting story, but I felt like the focus was largely on the men in the women’s lives and not the women themselves.

Adichie is a talented writer (I loved Americanah), but this book took me forever to read for some reason. It is character driven, and there is no central plot, but rather the stories of four connected women. COVID does play a role in the book (heads up if that's not your thing). Chia and Zikora's stories were the least interesting to me, as they were basically about them falling for a series of awful men. I liked Kadi and Omelogor's stories - I enjoyed reading about Kadi's childhood and growing up in Nigeria, and Omelogor had an interesting career. I appreciated the author's note at the end explaining how Kadi is based on a real person.

This was my first time reading a book by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She had such a beautiful way of presenting the experiences of the women in her books. So deeply, that was forced into some self reflection of my own type of dream count - reaching body just the men that have fallen short, but also people. This novel is present raw emotions through breathtaking prose.

I was so very excited to try this book - I’ve heard so many amazing things about this author’s writing. They definitely nailed the character study and the prose is breathtaking. There is no doubt in my mind that the author is talented but I’m not sure this was the right book for me.

I was looking forward to an interwoven story following the four main characters and instead feel like I read four separate novellas with little tying them together. By the time the narratives intersected I couldn’t recall the significance of that intersection.

When the book finally researched its overall arc the resolution felt a bit rushed.

Overall I feel readers that truly appreciate in depth character studies - but don’t mind when the characters have little development - would really enjoy this one. Adichie’s prose steals the show and certainly makes me want to try more of their work in the future!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Knopf for this advanced reader copy of Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

This novel is an intense character story of four interconnected women reflecting on their lives as a their worlds shift with a looming global pandemic. Chia is a Nigerian woman and travel writer who is really the common denominator in any relationship that the other women have with each other. Zikora is a lawyer and Chia’s best friend, Kadi is Guinean woman working as Chia’s housekeeper and Omelegor is Chia’s intimidating cousin and financial powerhouse.

I loved the idea of this novel more than the execution. When I got to Kadi’s story, I was so enraptured, I no longer cared about anyone else. Her story was so tender and captivating, it stole the thunder from the rest of the women. I didn’t want to leave her. I wanted that same experience with each woman, but alas no luck.

I really enjoyed this read and the perspectives of these different characters. I wish I'd taken fewer breaks while reading, because that made it a little harder to follow and track the different characters and their stories. Overall, I loved it, and the ending wrapped up the stories beautifully.

I am a huge fan on Adichie’s fiction and was thrilled to read this ARC. I enjoyed this expansive story with multiple narratives and perspectives. Like Americanah, it is a mosaic that spans countries, continents, and time periods. I loved it.

4.5 stars. I am honored to have been given the chance to read an ARC of Adichie’s newest novel. It is as well-written and moving as I expected.

The women at the heart of the story are each unique and fully formed. Particularly moving was the insightful telling of the story of the hotel maid assaulted by an influential international politician.

From both a context and a content perspective, this book reads like four short stories. In this story, four women tell their stories through flashbacks and the present day. One of the standout stories for me was Kadiatou's account of managing sexual assault as an immigrant. It would have been great if the entire book had been about her since she is the character I will remember the most. The book dragged a bit, but the story of Kadiatou made it worth reading. Readers who enjoy reading about different cultures and understand female friendships will enjoy this book. You won't be able to read this book in a hurry. Flashbacks sometimes meander, focusing almost too much on the men in their lives. Some sentences take your breath away, so it's worth your time. Her ability to write something extraordinary from the ordinary is one of her greatest strengths.

Thank you to Knopf for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

She’s back! And she does not disappoint.

This is a timely commentary, with a touch of COVID, some he said she said, and a bunch of friendship and family and love. With all the mess that comes with.

One thing Ms. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie does so well is bring characters to life. These women are easy to like, root for, and, at times, people the reader may want to reach through the pages and tell, ‘open your eyes!’ There are also secondary characters who are wonderful and/or terrible. All are beautifully written.

Settings mostly from the US and Nigeria- with stops around the world,( as one of the main characters is a travel writer)- are colorful and lush. Food is tasted, sights are imagined, sunshine is felt.

And the story: No one can tug the heartstrings quite like this- female expectations, friendships and family are the main focus, but a reader can easily find much more in here. Like systemic racism, misogyny, classism, and grief, just for starters. The language is exquisite- each word is chosen to perfection.

This story moves along at a nice pace. 400 pages were enough, but if she’d wanted to, I’d have read more. However, the end was perfect.

I’m so happy to have been able to read an ARC of this book- thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the opportunity to read and review this novel from one of my must-read authors! Highly recommend

I love Achichie's writing and have loved every one of her previous books, but I could not get myself to finish this one. The writing is beautiful as always, but I couldn't relate the characters. I like reflective characters but I admit to finding the reflections of the first two stories (as far as I got) to actually be tedious and not terribly insightful. I missed having any kind of story, and I got tired of the seemingly endless stream of unlikeable men. I am quite depressed about this as I had been looking forward to this book for a long time.
I will not be posting this review elsewhere as it was not positive.

This was my first novel by CN Adichie and I went in totally blind. I can definitely see the talent in her writing but wish I would’ve started with an earlier book. This brought up the tender and angst filled days of early covid where we were forced into a quarantine situation. I think it was a vivid reminder of time spent wanting and needing to be with loved ones. The characters individual stories did not tie together for me. The book seemed too long and did not flow well at all.
Thank you NetGalley, CN Adichie and Knopf Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review Dream Count. It was beautifully written but was not the book for me. I could not get past the first character's storyline for Chiamaker, living the loneliness of the Covid-19 epidemic and considering her prior relationships. It may be because, as a health care worker, I lived the stress of uncertainty and loss of life that was associated with that time period and the writing was so authentic, it brought out too many negative emotions. Also, it hurt to see Chia trying so desperately to please her self-righteous, resentful partner who continued to take advantage of her wealth while criticizing everything about her. This was a DNF for me but hope many others can appreciate it.

I am in love with Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche's work and this one was no exception. I will enjoy everything written by this author

Firstly, Dream Count is Adichie's first fiction book published in a decade, and needless to say, the book community is elated. I had been eagerly awaiting to read this book for so long, and the best thing was that it was exactly as beautiful as I thought it would be. Adichie is a proficient writer, and her prose is readably profound, flowing smoothly through digressions, and the emotional core of this story engrossed me thoroughly.

This story is about four women: Chiamaka, Zikora, Kadiatou, and Omelogor, who are unlikely friends in many ways, and the way they navigate the disconnect between their expectations from life and their realities. Each character is carved out meticulously by Adichie, their interconnected stories explored from different perspectives, their thoughts realistic and discrete. Every time I believed to had understood a character, Adichie revealed another layer, and I grappled with how to feel about them. I ended this book with a lot of thoughts, a lot of feelings, and a lot of respect for Adichie's raw talent for writing.

Reminiscence and yearning lie at the core of this book. All of the women are in their early to older forties, looking back on their lives, and pondering what they could have done differently. Very little in the name of plot appears, and when it does, it is visceral and poignant, beyond infuriating. For a book that is so feminist and that centers women and their lives, it revolves quite a bit around men. Then again, it makes sense in the context of the meaning behind the name of this book. The central question that runs through this novel is <i>What is it to be truly known?</i>

Adichie writes in her author's note, <i> Novels are never really about what they are about</i>, as she reveals what really led her to write this narrative, and end it as she did. So much is packed and explored in this novel—race, belonging, class issues, societal norms, immigration, sexism, corruption, morality, and choice. The characters, with all their differences, embody different belief systems that clash sometimes, and turning the lens upon them through each other's gazes as well as tertiary characters is an innovative written analysis of coexistence.

I'm not even sure who to recommend this to. The writing gets ornate to the point of flowery, the setting seems more haphazard than intentional, and you don't really get a resolution or tension in the story so much as endless introspection. I fell in love with the book, so I'd still herald this as an absolute work of art, and I'd say pick this up if you want a story with a deep emotive core and masterful writing.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor publishing for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thought provoking. Interesting. Sometimes confusing. This book was all of this and more. It is a long read, so be prepared for that when you settle in with it. It's also a bit painful at times as you think about our current situation in the U.S.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely