Dream Count | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s much-anticipated new novel, Dream Count, tells the intertwined stories of four women navigating life between Nigeria and the U.S. The novel begins in 2020, against the backdrop of the pandemic and its lockdowns, unfolding in four sections — each dedicated to one of the central characters: Chiamaka, Zikora, Omelogor, and Kadiatou. Through their experiences, Adichie explores themes of expectation, disappointment, resilience, and the quiet defiance of women whose lives have not turned out as their Igbo families had hoped.

Chiamaka is the only daughter of a wealthy Nigerian businessman. During lockdown, she finds herself in isolation, scrolling through the ghosts of past relationships and listing the men who have disappointed. In the end, she is left alone, apart from the one constant in her life: the unshakable bond with her female friends — the other women in this novel.

Zikora is a lawyer. She is abandoned by the father of her child the moment she reveals her pregnancy. She clings to the hope that he will return to meet his son, but that moment never comes.

Omelogor is Chiamaka’s sharp-tongued cousin, who was once a successful banker in Abuja. She leaves behind the corporate world to pursue a master’s degree in pornography studies in the U.S., fascinated by how younger generations are learning about sex through explicit media. But once immersed in the liberal arts scene, she becomes disillusioned with the rigidity of the so-called liberal mindset, which she finds paradoxically restrictive in its pursuit of ideological purity.

Kadiatou is a Guinean immigrant who starts as Chiamaka’s housekeeper but quickly becomes one of her closest friends. She comes to the U.S. seeking a better future for herself and her daughter, only to find herself working in a hotel where she is raped by a powerful white guest. Adichie draws inspiration from the 2011 case involving Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and in the book’s afterword, she explains why she felt compelled to include this harrowing story.

There’s an undercurrent of anger running through Dream Count, and I found it both powerful and deeply resonant — especially in the world we live in today. As always, Adichie masterfully weaves her narratives together, bringing each character to life with nuance and urgency. This novel was well worth the wait, though that comes as no surprise. There is simply no other writer like Chimamanda. I’ll be recommending this book to anyone who will listen!