Book Review: Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I’ve been a fan of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s work since I first read Half of a Yellow Sun and I’ve since read everything else by her, including her non-fiction work. I’ve find her writing to be incisive and informative. I immediately added her new book to my TBR when I heard it was coming and then was even more excited when I had the opportunity to get a copy from the publisher.

Dream Count features four different women – three who are fairly wealthy Nigerian women and a fourth who works for one of those women and is originally from Guinea. Each of the women has spent time in or still lives in the United States, each arriving under differing circumstances. Chiamaka is casually wealthy, sweet and beautiful, spending her time as a travel writer and dreaming of writing a novel. Her best friend, Zikora, is successful in so many facets of her life but betrayal makes her bitter. Chia’s cousin Omelogor is bold and her ruthlessness in business has made her successful. After some years in America, she has returned to Nigeria, unable to explain why to those close to her. Kadiatou is Chia’s housekeeper. Against so many odds, she has come to America with her daughter and built a life for them. But the actions of one man throw her life into disarray.

The story is about these 4 women and while their paths intersect easily and they influence one another and think about one another, their stories are largely separate. The present timeline of the book is in the early days of Covid-19, each of them locked down in their individual circumstances. Each woman, in mid-life, is looking back at the relationships and history that have shaped them and brought them to their present life. There’s a bit of strangeness in the fact that so much of the story of these women focuses on men. Omelogor’s timeline is most focused on her career, rather than her romantic relationships, but this is largely because she refuses to allow herself emotional attachments. These relationships are sketched briefly but very well and Adichie’s talent shines. Within paragraphs, I was invested with these characters and had strong opinions on each of the men and the choices these women should make.

Kadiatou’s story holds the most drama and tension. Again, Adichie’s talent shines and without the reader quite realizing it, she has drawn the outlines of a whole world. As she tells Kadiatou’s story and history, we realize just how high the stakes are, just how complicated some of these questions can be. I found myself wanting more here but I also respect the way Adichie holds back and leaves some questions unanswered, letting the tension exist just as it would in real life.

This is a tricky book to offer an outline as it doesn’t necessarily follow a straightforward plot. It doesn’t move from Point A to Point B. It’s almost like a series of character sketches and those are so well done that I couldn’t help but want more.