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A publishing event ten years in the making—a searing, exquisite new novel by the bestselling and award-winning author of Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists—the story of four women and their loves, longings, and desires.
Chiamaka is a Nigerian travel writer living in America. Alone in the midst of the pandemic, she recalls her past lovers and grapples with her choices and regrets. Zikora, her best friend, is a lawyer who has been successful at everything until—betrayed and brokenhearted—she must turn to the person she thought she needed least. Omelogor, Chiamaka's bold, outspoken cousin, is a financial powerhouse in Nigeria who begins to question how well she knows herself. And Kadiatou, Chiamaka's housekeeper, is proudly raising her daughter in America—but faces an unthinkable hardship that threatens all she has worked to achieve.
In Dream Count, Adichie trains her fierce eye on these women in a sparkling, transcendent novel that takes up the very nature of love itself. Is true happiness ever attainable or is it just a fleeting state? And how honest must we be with ourselves in order to love, and to be loved? A trenchant reflection on the choices we make and those made for us, on daughters and mothers, on our interconnected world, Dream Count pulses with emotional urgency and poignant, unflinching observations of the human heart, in language that soars with beauty and power. It confirms Adichie's status as one of the most exciting and dynamic writers on the literary landscape.
The plot is set during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. What do you think of the way the main characters reacted to the lockdown? How were their experiences similar to or different from your own?
It was funny to read a book that included the pandemic, it was the first time I've encountered it. It made me thank goodness it's over. It was very hard to be separated from my close knit family as well.
-Diane_P
Chia also thinks, “Where have all the years gone, and have I made the most of life? But what is the final measure for making the most of life, and how would I know if I have?” How would you answer her?
Elizabeth, I agree with you wholeheartedly!
-Diane_P
“In an unfinished dying, you feel you must mourn but you can’t even begin, because you haven’t reached an end that you understand,” Zikora thinks of the end of her romance with Kwame. Do you relate to this statement? What advice would you give her?
I can relate to this, having expectations, and dreams and just have it end, it takes a long time to get over. You just have to go on and be grateful for everything you do have and before you know it you've moved on!
-Diane_P
Zikora tells Omelogor and Chia that “every woman has a story…where a man has lied to her or betrayed her and left her with consequences.” Do you think this is true?
I think this is pretty much the truth, mostly when you are young and dating. At my age, I think of what I would have said to some of the young men I dated and were hurt by. If only I would have had the "voice" I have now, but it probably made me who I am today.
-Diane_P
What did you think of Omelogor’s “Dear Men” column? Did you agree or disagree with any of the advice she gave? Which bits?
I thought it was kind of funny. She seemed very uninhibited and outgoing in her advice!
-Diane_P
What did you think of Kadi’s story? Why do you think the hotel was so insistent on prosecuting the guest who raped her, even though she herself didn’t want to pursue charges? What roles did race and nationality play in her experience?
I found Kadi's situation so sad. It's just seems so typical of the way most woman are treated when they have been assaulted, I couldn't blame her for the reaction she had at the news her case was being dropped.
-Diane_P
What did you think of the book’s title? Did you figure out its meaning before it was revealed toward the end of the book? Do you think the phrase is apt?
I did not figure it out til the end!
-Diane_P
Chia asks Chuka, “Do you sometimes want to escape and find another life?” Why do you think she sometimes feels trapped? Have you ever felt similarly?
I think she feels trapped because in the face of competing pressures and options, she doesn't really know what she wants, so she is not able to commit to anything or anyone by being willing to work through conflicts in honest dialogue—or to stand up for herself—whether with a partner or an editor...
-JLPen77
Aside from Kadi, a character written to tug at our heartstrings, which woman held the most appeal for you?
I was drawn to the sorry of Omelogor. She was strong, independent, competitive and successful. She worked in the bank work, stole money, manipulated it for higher interests risks, transferred it to redistribute to the poor. The only request was "to help another woman." Like the other characters, ...
-Micheline_Heckler
Is there a quote or scene in Dream Count that stood out for you? Why do you suppose it resonated?
It is the last scene in the book where Kadiatou learned the case has been dismissed. Chia is saying "I wanted to savor this moment for just a little bit longer, Kadi and Binta, these two thoroughly decent people, mother and daughter, sitting on a sofa holding hands, their faces bathed in light." ...
-Micheline_Heckler
What audience would you recommend Dream Count to? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar theme or style? If you’ve read the author’s other works, how does this one compare?
I would recommend this book to readers who like lifestyle comparaisons from people living in a different country. I enjoyed Americanah and it seems that book was talking more about the difference in cultures from an African woman point of view who just moved to the United States. In Dream Count, ...
-Micheline_Heckler
Chia, Omelogor and Zikora are pressured to marry and have children, particularly by their Nigerian relatives and culture. How is each influenced, and how does each pursue this goal? Do you feel Western cultures are equally guilty of this?
I agree with J … perhaps because I also am a grandmother and have seen the changes in our country over the years. While women of my generation generally married in their 20's and there was an expectation for them to have children within a few years, this has changed. I have two nieces in their la...
-Lisa_G
Omelogor asks Hauwa, “Isn’t that what friendship is, to want each other’s approval?” What did you think of this statement? What’s your definition of friendship?
I wonder if "approval" was what Omelogor really was seeking here, as opposed to feeling seen, understood, which is another way of saying "feeling accepted." I agree that in mature relationships, friends don't issue approvals or disapprovals—they seek to understand one another, they are open to ex...
-JLPen77
Chia, Zikora and Kadi all pray. What role does faith play in each of these women’s lives?
I think also that their desire to pray was a way to stay connected to their families of origin as well as their villages and provided a day to day stability for them. And Omelogor's musings about watching the gatekeeper Mohammed praying several times a day just outside her apartment was so touching.
-Margaret_K
Overall, what did you think of Dream Count? (no spoilers, please!)
I enjoyed reading Americanah and I was looking forward to another great read. Even though the writing and the descriptions are beautiful, I was disappointed at the content. I had difficulty relating to the characters in general.
-Micheline_Heckler
The first sentence of the novel has Chia musing, “I have always longed to be known, truly known, by another human being.” What do you feel she means? Do you think what she desires is possible? How does this theme play out over the course of the book?
I agree she is looking for a soulmate and this is a very natural longing. But she is much too worried about appearances and expectations—including her family's traditions—and not really in touch with her self; she wastes too much time lying to herself and others about Darnell. She struck me as sp...
-JLPen77
Someone tells Omelogor, “You know they don’t want us to learn our history.” She responds, “Go and learn your history. It’s not anybody’s responsibility to teach you.” What did you think of this scene? Do you agree with Omelogor?
Omelegor is right to suggest we owe it to ourselves to take our history (as people of a certain identity that matters to us) into our own hands. I think that is what she meant. She wanted him to care about their history. It is not unlike the message in Tommy Orange's Wandering Stars : some people...
-JLPen77
What are you reading this week? (3/12/2025)
Half of a Yellow Sun-- beautiful book and the author has a new one out: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dream Count
-Claire_Mauro
What do you think each of the women’s lives might look like ten years after the conclusion of Dream Count?
Being an idealist and hopeful optimist, I see Chia married to her soulmate, Kadi will be married to Amadou who will be an honest, hard working and loving husband and stepfather, Zikora will be a great mother to Chidera and not focus on her love life until he is grown to be a man, and Omelogor wil...
-Elizabeth_L
In what ways do the characters' experiences of racism differ based on their gender, background, and geographical location? What racial barriers do Zikora and Chia in particular face as they pursue their careers?
Definitely Katailou had the most difficult experiences with racism and gender because she did have money and privilege that the other 3 had. However, all of them experienced discrimination and misogyny.
-Janine_S
Why do you feel there’s so much animosity between Zikora and Omelogor?
Why do you feel there's so much animosity between Zikora and Omelogor?
-kim.kovacs
About the Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Discussion
Please join BookBrowse in our book club discussion of Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
-system
What are you reading this week (1/2/2025)?
I'm reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/753002/dream-count-by-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/ DREAM COUNT (out in March—her first novel in 10 years!) and also, on the nonfiction side, Laura Marris's gorgeous https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/age-loneliness THE ...
-Norah_Piehl
"In today's world, when people seem at once too cut off and too much in each other's business, readers will feel communion with these tense, put-upon, yet resilient women in crisis. Adichie weaves stories of heartbreak and travail that are timely, touching, and trenchant." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Adichie returns to fiction after more than a decade with this superb tale of the fleeting joys and abiding disappointments of four African women on both sides of the Atlantic...[She] riffs brilliantly on what feminism means to her characters and renders each woman's story in a distinctive voice…This is well worth the wait." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Every aspect of this transfixing, intimate, and astute group portrait is ablaze with scorching insights into the maddening absurdities and injustices that continue to plague women's lives...Adichie's magnificently vital, sharply forthright novel will be one of the year's most sought after and resounding titles." —Booklist (starred review)
This information about Dream Count was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo © Okey Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie grew up in Nigeria. Her work has been translated into more than fifty-five languages. She is the author of the novels Purple Hibiscus, which won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize; Half of a Yellow Sun, which was the recipient of the Women's Prize for Fiction "Best of the Best" award; Americanah, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award; the story collection The Thing Around Your Neck and the essays We Should All Be Feminists and Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions. Her most recent work is an essay about losing her father, Notes on Grief, and Mama's Sleeping Scarf, a children's book written as Nwa Grace-James. A recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, she divides her time between the United States and Nigeria.
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Website
Name Pronunciation
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Chim-muh-MAHN-duh en-GOH-zee ah-DEECH-ee-(ay) The “ay” is soft, not quite a diphthong.
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