4 ⭐️

DREAM COUNT by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chiamaka is the nexus that brings the reader these four women’s stories: Chiamaka, her cousin Omelogor, her best friend Zikora, and her family’s maid Kadiatou. Each is experiencing challenges, particularly related to men or motherhood against the backdrop of the beginning of the pandemic.

➕ I liked seeing the issues each woman was going through and being able to compare and contrast them.

➕ The writing is solid, as you would expect from this powerhouse of an author.

➖ While each of these women is experiencing different issues, I felt the “voice” of each narrator sounded similar. If I picked up the novel while in the middle of a narrator’s section, I had to use the issues of the narrator to figure out which section I was in.

➖ I wasn’t as invested in Omelogor’s section. Some sections felt very long-winded and too character-driven for even me.

Loved the writing with so many keen observations from the author. This read like separate novellas, which is a decent structure. I wish the “voice” of the novella subjects differed more from one another. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an unbiased review. 

It publishes March 4, 2025.