DREAM COUNT by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ~published March 4, 2025

It might be the best thing I’ve read so far this year. And I understand why you might choose not to read it. Content warnings for sexual assault and FGM.

A little over a decade ago, Adichie wrote a book called AMERICANAH about a Nigerian woman who moves to America and discovers what it is like to be seen as “Black” with a capital B. It was a revelation to me and a five star read. I read it during a period when I was just beginning to read more diversely – it was around the time of the George Floyd verdict – and I look back on that time now and it feels very far away. All of us have a responsibility to discover and understand perspectives different from our own. That is certainly part of the appeal of Adichie’s books, although I think what makes Adichie truly special is her storytelling around identity and belonging.

Since finishing her latest, DREAM COUNT, a character-driven story of four interconnected African women and their relationships with men, I have discovered that the author herself holds a perspective I do not share about trans women. That is not what this book is about, but it is “out there” nonetheless and we, as readers with purchasing power, must decide what to do about it. Having already read the book before becoming aware of her position (I was gifted the ARC by the publisher), all I can do at this point is either amplify the controversy or ignore it and be silent (obviously I have chosen the former). It very much reminds me of when I read THE COLOR PURPLE and discovered only afterwards that Alice Walker had some pretty problematic views unrelated to her book. Many (too many!) authors whose works I love have disappointed me with their beliefs or actions, and I have complicated thoughts about separating the art from the artist. All to say, I understand if you decide to skip this one, and I understand if you decide to pick it up. I would highly recommend the book on its merits alone.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie once again proves her mastery of storytelling, weaving a narrative that is as intimate as it is universal. The novel is a beautifully layered exploration of womanhood, identity, and the strength found in bonds between women.

The story follows four women connected by either friendship or kinship, and each woman has her own chapter that tells follows them through journeys of triumph and struggles. By the end of each chapter, I felt like I knew the characters and yet somehow even after 400+ pages it wasn’t enough.

While the pacing lags in some areas, the novel’s emotional depth and stunning prose more than make up for it. This is a must-read for those who appreciate rich, character-driven narratives.

Where to start? I have so many highlighted notes from Dream Count! The gorgeous prose, the rich characters, their intertwined lives.

Chiamaka is our main character. Her section kicks off the novel. It's the covid lockdown and she's using the time, while sequestered, to ponder life. She's a travel writer, living in Maryland, of Nigerian descent. "I want to write light, funny takes on travel, and to her I'm just an African who should write about struggles". Adichie beautifully portrays the full array of Chia's personality, all the facets (and flaws) she has to offer, not just what others see. Chia is a dreamer, and a lot of her dreaming revolves around the men in her life.

Chia's best friend, lawyer Zikora, takes over the reins in the second section. She refers to men from her past: "the first thief of time..." while she goes down memory lane. Section three focuses on Kadiatou, who had a happy childhood with her sister Binta in Guinea before she immigrated. Kadi is Chia's housekeeper, raising a daughter, and also works at a fancy DC hotel. Rounding out the group is Chia's cousin Omelogor, a woman in finance with a razor sharp fierceness who takes no prisoners. Her website, "For Men Only", in which she gives advice to clueless men ("remember that I'm on your side, dear men") is sublime. They're characters in each other's stories, and we really get to know them when we get to their sections. We tie it up with a final section back from Chia.

Dream Count goes deep. The women's stories are profound, emotional, heartbreaking, the circumstances timely. I love a novel that widens my perspective. Dream Count resonates.

My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for the digital ARC. (pub date 3/4/2025)

A must read for all women. Authentic women with authentic lives. I have not lived their experience though, so this is a portrait of how the world discriminates and values its black women and mostly how a prejudiced world can turn against a victim based on the color of her skin. This is also about Nigerian/African culture and how they value women showing also the cultural tradition of genital mutilation/cutting and how superstition plays a role in culture. We have a portrait of women - their victories, their suffering, their friendship, their joy and their sorrow. This allowed me to see how common many of our experiences are as women but also how the world is a much different place for other women.

[Please note: I neither support nor endorse this author's personal, problematic views in regards to the trans community. I am solely providing a review of this book as per the agreed upon expectation from Netgalley in exchange for providing a digital ARC.]

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s "Dream Count" is a contemplative novel that captures the emotional turbulence of four Nigerian women navigating life’s crossroads during the isolating backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At its center is Chiamaka, a novelist-turned-travel writer stuck in suburban Maryland, grappling with solitude and revisiting the ruins of past relationships. Interwoven with her story are the lives of Zikora, a tough but vulnerable attorney; Kadiatou, a resilient housekeeper facing an unjust scandal; and Omelogor, a successful financier battling her own regrets. Adichie’s sharp prose and empathetic voice are prominent throughout, offering readers a vivid portrait of women in crisis.

While the narrative delves deeply into themes of identity, resilience, and connection, the plot sometimes feels fragmented, with certain storylines lacking the emotional weight needed to leave a lasting impression. Adichie’s ability to bring nuance to her characters ensures that their struggles and triumphs resonate on a personal level. However, the frequent shifts between perspectives, though intriguing, occasionally disrupt the flow, leaving some characters’ arcs less fully fleshed out.

While "Dream Count" may not reach the towering heights of "Americanah," it still provides moments of insight and poignancy. Readers who appreciate character-driven stories with a focus on introspection will find much to admire, even if the novel doesn’t consistently maintain its narrative momentum. While uneven in execution, it does offer an honest and heartfelt exploration of lives shaped by both external pressures and internal desires.

Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a profound and evocative novel that delves into the intricate lives of four Nigerian women, each grappling with their own unique challenges and aspirations. Adichie's storytelling prowess shines through as she weaves a narrative that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.

The novel centers around Chiamaka, Zikora, Omelogor, and Kadiatou, whose lives are intricately intertwined by blood, friendship, and circumstance. Chiamaka, a Nigerian travel writer living in America, navigates the complexities of love and identity, her journey marked by a poignant reflection on past relationships. Zikora, a successful lawyer, faces the delicate balance of professional success and personal fulfillment, while Omelogor, a fiercely independent woman in the banking industry, confronts the cultural and societal expectations that shape her world. Kadiatou, the housekeeper, embodies the quiet dignity and resilience of immigrant women, her story a powerful commentary on systemic inequality and the quest for justice.

Adichie's prose is both lyrical and incisive, capturing the essence of each character's inner world with remarkable clarity. The pandemic backdrop amplifies the isolation and vulnerability of these women, adding a layer of urgency and relevance to their stories. Through their intertwined narratives, Adichie explores themes of privilege, resilience, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels fragmented and uncertain.

What sets Dream Count apart is Adichie's ability to make the reader feel the weight of every choice these women face. Her observations about identity, ambition, and cultural expectations are not just insightful but transformative, challenging readers to reconsider their own perspectives on these issues. The novel's emotional depth is further enhanced by Adichie's exquisite prose, which is at once devastatingly beautiful and profoundly moving.

Dream Count is more than just a novel; it is an experience that lingers long after the last page is turned. It is a testament to the power of literature to heal, unite, and illuminate the deepest corners of our shared humanity. Adichie's latest work is a gift to readers, a reminder of why we turn to stories in times of both joy and sorrow.

This is undoubtably a 5 star ⭐️ book.

Chimamanda is such an incredible writer and she cleverly woven this story connecting several women who live vastly different lives and have completely different experiences but all show very raw and layered accounts of what it is to be a woman. More specifically, she shows what it’s like to be an African woman.

So many important subjects were discussed and it really made you see the nuance in situations you might have overlooked before or ones that aren’t discussed nearly enough.

This was one of the most impactful books I’ve ever read and I believe everyone should read this. Such an important book.

I don’t want to spoil too much but some topics touched were - sexual assault, covid pandemic, racism, sexism, war, flawed justice system, corruption, fraud, and many more.

This book was sobering, enraging, heartbreaking and affirming.

Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, Anchor and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for giving me an ARC of this spectacular book!

This one was a challenge. There were moments when I felt inspired and connected to both the writing and the characters, while other sections left me feeling bored and confused. Maybe, at a different time, I would have had a clearer opinion—either a strong admiration or a complete disappointment. I suggest you give it a try and see how it resonates with you. Thank you @netgalley @chimamanda_adichie @aaknopf for the ARC. #netgalley #netgalleyarc

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance reader's copy of this book. Unfortunately at this time I am unable to read the novel and devote time to providing a review. I will return to the book when I am able and will update this website with my thoughts.

I really struggled with this one and am so sad that I didn’t love it more. I absolutely loved Americanah so I was thrilled to get this book as an ARC. There is no question that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has a beautiful way with words, and that kept me invested for about the first half. But the book overall felt stale, incredibly slow and just dense. I fear this is a wrong place wrong time situation, as maybe if I were able to engage with this book more it would be more poignant and powerful. But I am tired of reading (and living!!) about women wronged by men with no real resolution.

I have been an avid reader of Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie since I first read 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘩 while decompressing in Arizona after my first semester of grad school. I went back and read her brilliant first two novels, 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴 and 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘠𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘚𝘶𝘯. I’ve even taught her TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” to my freshman writing students to indicate why they should use a variety of sources and perspectives when researching. Her writing allowed me to discover Chinua Achebe’s African Trilogy.

To put it lightly, I was thrilled when Knopf granted me an advance read of her first book in over a decade, 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵.

𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 is structured as five separate novellas with connecting characters and slightly connecting themes and plot elements. Each novella focuses on one of four women: Chiamaka/Chia, Zikora, Kadiatou, and Omelogor. Chiamaka’s story spans the first and last novella and gives the book its title - over COVID lockdown, she is doing a “dream count” of all the men she’s loved or thought she loved. If you think that shouldn’t take an entire pandemic, then…yeah. Omelogor’s is the longest and the only told in first person.

However, this book is disappointing. And I’m not saying it’s disappointing for Adichie, I’m saying it’s disappointing. It suffers from so many flaws that I know I didn’t list them all.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗱:
- The structure. I like the idea of interconnecting novellas. It prevents mildly similar voices from running on top of each other.
- Omelogor’s section is actually fantastic for about the first three quarters.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
- Lazy, lazy, lazy writing. Adichie usually writes such brilliant, beautiful prose, but this book has so much telling and not showing. It’s very clear that Adichie wants this book to make a point against Western post-COVID feminism and progressivism to the point it’s almost comical how one-dimensional the characters are in places.
- The whole book is one large failing of the Bechdel Test. It’s almost completely just women talking about men and their relationships with men. Even when women talk about other women, they are talking about those women in terms of their relationships with men.
- Kadiatou’s story is so extremely out of place. It’s a not subtle at all retelling of the sexual assault by the head of the International Monetary Fund which even the author calls an “urge to write a wrong.” She is only loosely connected to the other characters by virtue of being Chiamaka’s housekeeper.
- Aside from a couple of cameos, Zikora almost completely disappears from the book after her section.
- The last quarter of Omelogor’s section takes an extremely interesting and unique character and basically cuts her off at the knees in order to make some sort of statement about American progressivism and academia.
- Aside from Kadiatou (who remember, doesn’t fit the structure), all of the characters are rich and privileged and the book seems to be going out of its way to make sure you know that’s a good thing and not a bad one.

𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁:
No. Just no. This is not the same Adichie I remember.

I love when four narratives entwine in a book, and Dream Count is no exception. These women are smart, kind, full of dreams, and knowable. Thank you for sharing this book with me.

Thank you @netgalley and @aaknopf for an ARC of this beautiful new book from @chimamanda_adichie 💭📚 It kept me company on the flight home and made the time fly! Out now ✨

Each year always have the book you must read and Dream Count is one of them. You know when Ms. Adiche comes out with a book it's going to special and take you to a world that you don't know but can totally connect with her characters and see them literally blossom from the pages. Dream Count is about four women who all have dreams about making their lives better. Each character comes at from their perspective and want differnt things but just all want to be happy. from a housekeeper who wants to give her daughter a better life in America, a travel writer who explores the world but wants truly just wants to find herself. a lawyer who things she's got it all until she doesn't and finally a business who has it all financially but is she being true to herself. You take all these characters and the magical style of writing of Ms. Adiche and it becomes a book that will stay with you long after you read it. It will be one of the best of 2025 and be sure to pick up many literary prizes and nominations. READ IT!!! Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for this extraordinary read.

I first discovered Adichie through Purple Hibiscus, and I was excited to read Dream Count.

The novel follows four Nigerian women who are connected (through family or friendship). Each section of the book focuses on a different character: Chiamaka, her best friend Zikora, her housekeeper Kadiatou, and her cousin Omelogor. Their overlapping stories are rich in description, and the characters are written with depth and intention. Dream Count concludes by revisiting Chia’s story and bringing the characters together. Each section is long, but the story is carefully crafted, tracing relationships, jobs, and hardship. The characters are each searching for happiness in their own way, questioning themselves each step of the way.

The author’s note at the end shares Adichie’s inspiration for writing, and just like the prose in her novel, it is well-written. I enjoyed the connection between characters, especially how the women support each other.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dream Count is a detailed, character driven book spanning over the United States and Nigeria. This book shares the dreams, pressures, lovers, and the current and past lives of 4 women. It starts and ends with Chiamaka. Instead of actively flipping between points of view, this novel is structured to give each woman a part of the book before going to the next one. The women all have connections to Chiamaka, so the other women would still be peppered throughout each other's stories. Each story is very unique. The book is complex, and it is best to just go right into it without knowing too much of the summary to let it unfold on its own.

This is a rich story, and I never knew where the author was going to go next. At times I felt like the book was almost more like short stories for each of the women, but then the author would then make a connection back to another woman. The book kept me engaged, surprised, and wondering what was going to happen next. 3.5 rounded up. I look forward to any future books by Ms. Adichie!

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I have only ever read Americnah by Adichie, which I enjoyed. When I saw that Dream Count was coming after such a long time of no novels from her, I had to give it a try. Her novels are amazing and personal, with characters you can actually be invested in and care about. Adichie has the ability to grab you by the heart and gently guide you through a story that you absolutely need to hear.

This is a story about four interconnected women (by blood or friendship), the pandemic cutting through the setting or fading in the background, and the women's hopes and dreams in the foreground. It’s also about love, of course, relationships, and dignity and self-care, a sense of identity and also courage to live your life with purpose and confidence. And finding the right people who support you. Seeing each woman's journey touched a different part of my own psyche and experience - there is truly something here for everyone. Even the author's note at the end is spectacular.

A triumph for Adichie - definitely go get this one!

As always with Adichie, the writing in this book was beautiful. The book tells the story of four women reflecting on their lives, loves, and losses. Unfortunately, despite the wonderful prose, this book became very repetitive with over bearing parents and men behaving badly. I think it would have been fine if it was perhaps half the length but 400 pages was just too long for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book!

Happy Pub Week to 𝑫𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑴 𝑪𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑻 𝒃𝒚 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂 𝑵𝒈𝒐𝒛𝒊 𝑨𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒊 which I got to listen to the #gifted audio from @prhaudio as well as pair with the arc via NetGalley from Knopf.

Wow. This is a deep character study that follows 4 Nigerian women; Chiamaka a Nigerian travel writer living in America, Zikora is her best friend with a new baby, Omelogor, Chiamaka’s bold, outspoken cousin, & Kadiatou, Chiamaka’s housekeeper, proudly raising her daughter in America. About halfway through, a horrific event occurs and affects the women in different ways.

This was a fascinating look at multiple themes through the lenses of these women. I especially felt like the look at Americans was both spot on from what I've heard from others, and also enlightening. I felt some of the characters' journey with family, expectations, and culture defiance felt familiar, giving me connection, while the settings and background gave me more insight into another culture. The author's note at the end was also important and not to be missed.

I loved AMERICANAH, and this was another good story, though I did find myself feeling it was a bit long in some of the long chapters. Fortunately, the audio read by the author, Sandra Okujoyejo, A'rese Emokepae, & Janina Edwards made each voice unique and I loved hearing it all spoken. This is another great option for a bookclub and deeper discussion.

This story will go down as one of the most beautifully written novels I've had the opportunity to read.

The writing is exquisite and there were times when I resonated with the characters so deeply that it actually made this story hard to read at times. This is definitely not a story that you pick up and then read it all at once. You need to let yourself sit with it and take your time.

This story starts during the pandemic. Chiamaka promised herself she would start having some productive hobbies, but instead, she's lonely and starts reflecting on her past. Through Chiamaka, we meet the other characters in this story: her best friend, Zikora, her cousin, Omelogor, and her housekeeper, Kadiatou.

This is my first book from this author (I know how iconic they are; I am simply behind the times), but this story was impactful. I think, based on where we are in the world, we sometimes think others are so different from us but reading about these four women and their lives, you see we aren't that different after all in terms of emotions, reactions, and basic desires.

If you're needing a story to make you think and reflect, I would take time to sit with "Dream Count".