This was a difficult heavy read by a truly gifted author. Beautifully written but definitely not a light summer read.

This was a reflective character study of four women, their hopes/dreams, and their relationships with one another. The book is split into five chapters, with one character narrating the first and last, and the three others each having their own dedicated chapter. The first chapter gives a good overview of what the major events of the next three chapters will be, but it was still interesting to see the same events (and the same characters) from different perspectives. In these first and last chapters, I sometimes had difficulty with the sequence of events.

The most defining aspect of the book is its emphasis on relationships and the different forms they can take. For some, their romantic relationships are their main preoccupation; for others, it is their familial relationships or relationship to their career. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a good exploration of relationships, the evolution of dreams, and varying perspectives, in addition to anyone who enjoyed Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's other works.

Dream Count tells the stories of four connected women in the years immediately preceding, during, and after the pandemic. The first and central character is Chiamaka, a Nigerian travel writer who lives outside of DC in Maryland. Chia, who experiences the start of the pandemic in utter solitude, is defined by her past lovers and the series of idealistic choices that has led her to be alone in her early forties. Zikora, the second woman, grew up with Chia in Nigeria and moved to DC for law school. While professionally successful, she finds herself betrayed and abandoned at a critical moment of her personal life. Omelogor, the third woman, is Chia’s cousin and best friend. She is brash, opinionated, and a successful banker in a male-dominated industry in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. A few years before the pandemic she has a crisis of conscience at work and decides to move to the United States to get her PhD, but quickly becomes disillusioned by the moralistic judgment and political correctness of her classmates. Kadiatou, the final woman, is Chia’s housekeeper in Maryland. Kadiatou was born in Guinea in poverty, never went to school, and experienced a series of hardships before claiming asylum in the United States with her young daughter. Kadiatou is thrust into the spotlight after she is raped by a prominent politician while working as a maid in a hotel. While Kadiatou receives support from the other three women, she ultimately faces the trauma alone as she navigates an unfamiliar legal and cultural landscape.

There is no doubt in my mind that Adichie is an incredibly talented writer. As always, Adichie seamlessly includes poignant social commentary by grounding her characters’ experiences in the worlds they grew up in and the ones they currently occupy. I tore through this book and was invested in the each character’s journey.

Ultimately, however, I don’t think that Adichie stuck the landing. While I think Kadiatou’s narrative was one of the strongest portions of the book, paradoxically, I think Adichie could only have been completely successful if she did not include it. In that instance, the book would have been a wonderfully well-written book about the issues facing three affluent Nigerian women in the modern era, each of whom has faced their share of heartbreaks and broken expectations. Although Kadiatou experiences her own heartbreak and broken expectations, the magnitude is radically different. Including Kadiatou’s story gave the book a disjointed feel at the end. I kept waiting for Adichie to weave Kadiatou’s story in with the others beyond just the fact that they all knew her, but she never did. Thus, at the end, I was disappointed and conflicted. I had such an enjoyable reading experience, want to recommend the book to others, but think an essential structural thread is missing.

DREAM COUNT, Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie’s latest novel, is really four stories, loosely tied together by the characters’ familiarity with each other and the heartbreaking rape trial one of them endures. I could pick holes in the novel as a whole but that would be missing the incredibly interesting insights Adichie provides along the way. I especially enjoyed Omelogor’s section, a woman with a whole lot to say, while the housekeeper, Kadiatu’s story created a terrible sense of doom from the start. When I learned that story was based on an actual event, the novel made even more sense. This is a big book with many opportunities for readers to stop and think, especially for those interested in Nigerian culture. And as a starting point for many cultural issues, everyone should be!

With thanks to NetGalley and publisher Albert A. Knopf for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunatel, DREAM COUNT by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie did not do it for me. I’m sure there are some people who would enjoy this, but it didn’t resonate and it was a struggle to get through. The flow wasn’t consistent and it felt choppy. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful deep dive into to the lives of four Niferian women. You are quickly invested in each of their lives and stories. Loved it!

This engaging novel shares the intertwined stories of four Nigerian women and how their lives change during the uncertainty of the pandemic. Chia is an affluent travel writer, navigating love in a time of isolation. Her best friend, Zikora, is reeling—pregnant and unexpectedly single, trying to piece together a path forward. Omelegor, Chia’s cousin, chooses to walk away from a lucrative but ethically compromised career in finance, setting her sights on an MBA in the U.S. in search of something more meaningful.

But the true heart of the novel is Kadiatou, Chia’s housekeeper, whose life is upended after a brutal sexual assault. Her journey—raw, painful, and quietly resilient—forces a confrontation not only with trauma but with the uncomfortable spotlight of public scrutiny. Ngozi Adiche doesn't shy away from the complexities of class, gender, and silence, and Kadiatou’s voice resonates long after the book ends.

Each woman brings a distinct and compelling voice to the narrative, and the novel flows easily between their perspectives. It’s introspective, honest, and emotionally resonant. I really enjoyed this women-centric story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

I haven't finished this book yet. I think this is one of those books you have to be in the right mindset for and I haven't been there yet. What I have read is beautifully written, so I feel sure I will pick this book back up again one day.

It took me a little bit to get into Dream Count, but once I did, it was a slow burn, reeling me in. The book is told from 4 different perspectives in long chapters, 3 wealthy Nigerian friends, and another African woman who is more working class - I don't want to give any details away, but I found her section the most powerful. There are definite themes of sisterhood, most men in the book are disappointing at best, villains at worst. The 3 women can't seem to find love despite being beautiful and successful, but this is not a "Sex and the City" type of book, although there are those moments, it tackles deeper elements. I like how sometimes there's little exposition, the timeline moves around, a new character is mentioned, and then the backstory is given later. It was somehow very satisfying to read like this, it kept me really focused and engaged the whole time. I don't know if most authors could pull this off, but once again, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has come through.

I have been meaning to read Adichie for a long time, but this book did not influence me to pick up any of their other works.

I repeatedly wanted to DNF, and each time I pressed on, it didn't get better. To the point where I finally did DNF at 60%

The concept of intertwined lives has been done before, and I felt like this was the worst I have seen.

I do understand that this was written through the grief of the author's mother's passing, and while I feel for the author and the grief that they face. I didn't enjoy this book and didn't like how grief was explored in it.

I really enjoyed Dream Count! The story pulled me in right away, and the visuals were super cool and creative. It had this dreamy, emotional vibe that stuck with me after it ended. If you're into something a little different and meaningful, definitely give this one a try. Totally worth it!

Four women’s lives are intertwined in this novel, three are well-off friends/relatives from Nigeria and the fourth a poor woman from Guinea. The books explores the reality of being a woman in patriarchy and all the offenses to a woman’s body that can involve (including on the page sexual assault). Much of the book is compelling, but I found it a bit uneven. We rotate between the women and when we arrive at the third woman, the writing becomes much more dense and it felt to me a bit like tripping on the sidewalk. It disrupted the smoothness of the narrative in a way I didn’t like. I don’t know if this was intentional, but to me it made to story drag and made me want to put it down a bit. I’m glad I stuck with it, though, as the assault is horrific and following the aftermath kept me glued to the page. Not Adichie’s best but good.

I love material that challenges me to grow my perspectives of the world, and this book delivered on that. This author has some of the most beautiful prose, and it really shines in her fiction debut. One of the things that most stood out to me in the four stories of these women’s lives was how women deeply consider things like marriage and children in a way that men do not have to. Each of these women’s lives were informed by men in different ways, and the author beautifully demonstrates the extremely complicated ways in which women are forced to engage with men in their understanding of their futures and the meaning of their lives. Thought provoking and beautifully done, if you want to really reflect on meaning, love, and relationships with men, this one is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, pantheon, vintage and anchor for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

"Dream Count" is a gem! There are four main characters that have a section written through their point of view. Chiamaka (Chia) is the daughter of a wealthy family who is a travel writer living in America. Zikora is her best friend. Omelogor is Chia's cousin whose livelihood takes a questionable turn. Kadiatou is Chia's housekeeper who experiences an assault while working in a hotel. Each character has their own life struggles. Whether it's a man in their life, careers, or challenges with culture, I found this plot very insightful. The book starts with the "rumblings" of COVID-19, and by the end of the book, these women survived COVID-19 while sharing its impacts on their lives. I could not wait to get back to this book when I had to set it down.

The common thread is they are from Africa. The reader learns much about Nigeria (culture, language, history, and more). I found this very interesting. The author does a great job enlightening the reader with this aspect.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Thanks to the publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, and the author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, for the privilege to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Adichie is a beautiful writer. Unfortunately the storytelling in this book is uneven at best. It is clear that Kadiatou is the character Adichie cares most about and Omelogor is the character she admires the most. These are the characters written with most depth, nuance, and agency. Both Chia and Zikora’s stories feel relentlessly depressing. Both characters are reactive and seemingly trapped by their ideas of marriage and children, willing to sacrifice their dignity for what they see as the big prize. Omelogor is a valiant counterpoint of a woman unafraid to go after money, power, and independence. But even in her case, Adichie plagued Omelogor with feelings of emptiness and uncertainty about her life choices. Why can’t even one character in this book feel good about a life without a man and children? It is telling, and indicative of the personal grief that Adichie channels through this book, that the most hopeful moment happens at the very end and involves Kadiatou and her daughter, and their relief at the end of Kadiatou’s torture at the hands of the justice system. The fact that this relief comes at the cost of justice and consequences for Kadiatou’s rapist is a cynical attempt of wish fulfillment for Adichie who clearly wishes that the real case Kadiatou’s is based on had turned out differently. Overall, other than a collection of anecdotes about the pitfalls of women’s dreams and how awful men can be to women, it’s unclear what the underlying message is of this book. Beautifully written but unfulfilling experience.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc

this is the first book by adichie i’ve read since purple hibiscus back in 2021 for grad school, and i was hoping dream count would be as resounding as purple hibiscus.

while i was interested in the first 25% of the book, the rest left me scratching my head. women so desperate to be with men that they choose such disastrously emotionally unavailable men and then are upset when those men cannot provide to them the emotional needs they are looking for.

this just felt lackluster in plot and characters’ goals/desires, but clearly i’m in the minority, which is fine

Dream Count was set during the Covid19 pandemic, but went back and forth in time as the four main characters remember events both good and bad that have shaped their lives. I enjoyed many of the story lines, but one horrific event was very difficult to read. Adichie is an excellent writer, and she wove together these stories effortlessly. Thank you to @netgalley, @Libro.fm, and the publisher for the advanced digital copies.

It took a while to tie all these women stories together and having gone into this book blind i was shocked at the culmination. I didn’t know that was the inspiration for this novel but I didn’t have a sneaky suspicion once the VIP floor was mentioned. I put the book down and ran to Wikipedia for a refresher. The author did a great job of humanizing Kadiatou, something that wasn’t at all the focus during the media frenzy, it was more on the perpetrator. And Kadiatou’s tale came quite late in the novel, after I’d spent most of my time cursing all of Chiamaka’s love interests and decision making, all the while Kiadatou was in the background. I took copious notes in an attempt to keep everyone’s story straight as there were so many characters introduced. The only character whose story didn’t quite come together IMHO was Omelogor’s. I don’t think she got the same development the others had, I don’t think we got to the bottom of her motivations, like we did the other ladies. She held things back from her entourage and even from us the readers. But over all the characters were well developed. There were very deep topics addressed but not in a way that was too much to handle. Zikora’s story could have been fleshed out more but that could have been due to editing as the author has a short story out on her journey. The novel takes place with the pandemic as a backdrop and reminded us of the craziness of those initial days when conspiracies were gospel and everyone knew better than medical experts, yet the global crisis didn’t overshadow the stories. I did like how the stories were woven together, just that a couple were rushed. I enjoyed this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! Definitely CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS before reading if triggers are a concern for you.

This was the first fiction novel I've read from Adichie. I read We Should All Be Feminists several years ago and liked it, but I don't think Dream Count is for me. I'm unsure what Adichie's main purpose or focus was meant to be for this story. It feels like it's tackling too much: motherhood, sexual assault, missed connections, American liberalism, romantic relationships, misogyny across cultures, and what it means to be content with one's life. Yet somehow, none of these threads felt conclusive or fully explored.

I enjoyed Chia's chapters well enough, even though her romantic misadventures had me yelling at her to stand UP. Zikora irritated me because she was so judgmental of others, despite complaining about the judgment cast on her. Zikora lost me entirely when she said she didn't view her mother as a whole person until after she gave birth at 39! She's about 20 years late for that revelation. Her pregnancy sequences were also akin to body horror to me, and I made it through those parts just to be taken out even more by Kadiatou's female genital mutilation and multiple assaults. Omelogor's section was just not that interesting. She had a fine life despite her stint as a corrupt bigwig, but allowed her aunt to make her doubt herself, she hates Americans, and that's about it.

In the end, Chia's dream count amounts to nothing, and it seems like Zikora is the only one who gains anything (<spoiler>a baby and a better relationship with her mother</spoiler>). A lot of topics were brought up, chief among them the cultural expectation for women to aspire only to being a wife and mother regardless of their success or happiness outside these fields, and yet none were thoroughly examined or challenged. These women, despite not following the cultural norms their families are pressuring them into, aren't doing so to challenge the status quo or take a stand for their own satisfaction. Instead, they happen into their alternative lifestyles by accident, making for a much less interesting read and a much more aimless story.

In the past I have found Adichie’s books compelling and hard to put down, so I very much looked forward to reading Dream Count, only to find it my least favorite of her books. Dream Count tells the separate but somewhat interconnected tales of four women, immigrants to the USA. At times I struggled to understand the connections or the significance of the their struggles.

The women are strong characters. They are seeking love and acceptance and unsure of how to achieve that goal. The plight of the immigrant and the juxtaposition of two conflicting cultural traditions muddies the waters. The America found is not the America of an immigrant’s dreams. Chiamaka Chia, is the central figure, though not the most compelling. She brings the four stories together in a package that is loosely bound .

Kadiatou, a single mom, working as a hotel maid tugged at my heartstrings. The author borrowed from troubling real life drama to create a fictional character whose innocence and vulnerability even when facing an unimaginable transgression of trust, finally had me glued to the pages. If only the entire book were as important as this small piece. I wanted to know more. I wanted the other characters to become deeply involved but that wasn’t to be.

Three adequate stars for a book I liked that might have been so much more. My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for an advance reader’s copy in exchange for my review. Dream. Lung was published on March 4, 2025 and is available for fans of Adichie