DREAM COUNT

Dream Count is the highly anticipated new novel from the award winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and already on this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist. The story follows the lives of four interconnected single women of African heritage in America and Nigeria, discovering their hopes, dreams, careers and relationships as they independently forge their own paths in today’s complicated and conflicting world.

Whilst there is no doubt that Adichie’s reflections on the desires of women, and the honesty she gives her imperfect characters are a wonder to behold, the Den weren’t as enraptured as with the previous brilliant ‘Americanah’ and ‘Half of Yellow Sun’, two of our favourite reviewed books. Nevertheless, it is an enriching and fascinating exploration of the dreams and reality shared by the four women in search of that unobtainable something special in their lives.

The book opens with Chiamaka. Chiamaka is from a wealthy Nigerian family, living in America and trying to be a travel writer. Lockdown has arrived, and trapped in her home she begins to reflect on her past relationships, particularly Darnell, her American artist boyfriend who was entitled, controlling and arrogant. Next is Chuka to whom she couldn’t commit. Then in London the white Englishman who isn’t given a name (maybe because he is married).

Next is Chiamaka's best friend Zikora who is giving birth with her mother by her side. We soon discover her back story, a lawyer who has always dreamed of the conventional catholic marriage and family. After two failed relationships, she unexpectedly meets Kwame at the launch of a vegan cookbook. He is a fun youthful lawyer and everything is going swimmingly, but the biological clock is ticking and becoming pregnant means the life she had planned lies in tatters. The mother/daughter relationship at this point is heart-rending and almost in a moment, Zikora sees her mother in a new light.

We then move on to Kadiatou’s story which starts in Guinea where she grew up in a loving family idolising her elder sister Bintu. Kadi is a gentle soul who sees the best in everyone. After tragedy hits the family and a failed abusive marriage she follows her heart to be with her first love in America escaping persecution with her young daughter by seeking asylum. Life is going well until a devastating episode occurs in the hotel with a white VIP which turns Kadi’s world upside down leaving her out of her depth in this foreign country. Adichie has based this event on the true story of Nafissatou Diallo who accused a high profile businessman of assault. It asks so many questions about the context for getting justice and in many ways, the reader is disappointed that this story stops in the middle of the crisis and isn’t resumed until the end of the book where it is wrapped up rather suddenly.

The most dominant character is Chai’s cousin, Omelogor, a highly intelligent and successful banker living in Abuja, Nigeria who has made her fortune and decides to redistribute her corruptly gained money to help other women set up businesses. Omelogor appears to be the one person who believes there are other ways for women to live without marriage and children. She lives a very privileged lifestyle with household staff and constantly entertains. Omelogor seems angry with the world and therefore the least likeable of the four women but probably the most important in terms of standing up for women’s rights and not conforming. She calls her relationships with men “emotional happenings” and they always seem unwise choices. Her mother is desperate for her to marry and have a baby, but once the biological clock has passed she wants her to adopt.

This book covers so many important issues from female genital mutilation, abusive partners, single parenting, medical neglect and sexual assault but the main focus is the pressure of society for African women to marry and have children and the family disappointment if they don’t depicted beautifully through this quartet of fascinating women.