Dream Count: A Novel

This was so good! I loved the way the four main characters stories intertwined and the author's note at the end which explained that the book was about the author's mother who she recently lost, and mother daughter relationships in general. So touching and memorable. One of my favorite books this year!

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What’s it about?

This novel intertwines the stories of four Nigerian women.

What did it make me think about?

“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?”

Should I read it?

I really admire Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s writing. This book is a character study of four different women. Two are told in first-person narrative, and two are told in third-person. All the women are in their forties and looking back at the choices that have brought them to their present circumstances. They are very different women, but each illuminates some facet of being a woman. I do not believe this book will be for everyone. If you like a lot of plot, then skip this. If you are interested in character development and women’s studies, then this novel was written for you.

Quote-

“They are talking about the Brazilian butt surgery deaths in Lagos. They do not question the longing for big buttocks that makes you agree to go under anesthesia in a darkish room with peeling paint. They know irony and hyperbole and sass, but self-love is strange to them. I think of myself at sixteen. It was a slower-paced time and our troubles were different, of course, but we weren’t so willing to believe the worst of ourselves. If our daughters do not know how beautiful they are, just as they are, then surely we have failed.”

Adichie is one of my favorite authors and I am so excited to have a new work by her. I thought this was a fascinating character study and I was rooting for all of these women!

I really enjoyed this book. It felt very immersive, almost like reading a diary, especially the first account which was from Chiamaka’s perspective. At first, I didn’t particularly like Zikora's character, mainly because of how she felt about Omelegor, but over time I came to understand and appreciate her perspective. I think the book does a great job of doing justice to the story, particularly in highlighting Diallo’s experiences and the relation to the situation with Dominique Strauss-Kahn. One of the strongest parts for me was seeing how each woman grew up, how their perspectives evolved, and how their individual experiences shaped their views. Overall, it was really insightful to witness the complexity of their experiences and the different ways they navigated their lives as women. I didn't hate the characters at the end of it all, I understood them.

Wow that was probably the worst book ever written or read. While yes lots of interesting stories in the book. I had no idea which character was talking. Which time period. Which boyfriend… I would have rather she wrote 3 different deep stories…. It felt like she just mashed things together…