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Recently, I have been in the market, searching for a new work of fiction to keep my mind busy and embark on a wide-ranging journey, depending on how the writer navigates my emotions with their well-crafted words. This came about because I realized my library has been filled with non-fiction books with little to no presence of fiction.
This is quite appalling because a great part of my childhood and vocabulary journey was built on fictional books. I remember falling in love with short composition stories in my English textbooks, longing for the next literature class where I would get to read new pages from Oliver Twist, and how the pupils would take turns in class when reading The Sugar Girl.
You can see what I am saying. I was a fiction reader, but fast forward to my adulthood, and I am now buried in non-fiction, talking about life, how to overcome challenges, and dealing with my finances or anything money-related. And if I am being totally honest in this post, the last work of fiction I read has to be The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives.
This brief synopsis is what brought about my quest for a new work of fiction and how I came across Dream Count by the renowned African-American writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Being a huge admirer of her previous works, right from Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, and Americanah, it is not surprising to me at all that I developed an interest in finding out what this book is about and if I should actually pick it up as my next fictional read.
Being popular and well known for her works, it was not so hard to see different media outlets having publications on her book and talking about how it had been over 10 years since she last wrote a novel. Also, as a means to promote the book, she did a book tour for the novel this year, I think a couple of months back, probably in June or July, I cannot really remember. But all I remember is not being able to attend the event, especially the Lagos edition. I mistakenly mixed up the dates.
For those who are new to the novel and its title. Dream Count is Chimamanda's fourth novel, released on the 7th of March 2025. It has been more than a decade since she last published a novel, and that will take us back to 2013, when she released Americanah. Although within the years she still had other publications like A Note on Grief, which centers on how she dealt with the loss of her father during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a children's book titled Mama's Sleeping Scarf.
I did a quick research on the book and I discovered that the novel is based on four female characters and how they battle the challenges they face in the midst of the pandemic.
- Chiamaka - The Nigerian travel writer who gets stranded in the United States because of the pandemic and reflects on her past lovers and choices.
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Zikora- Chiamaka's best friend and a successful lawyer who battles betrayal from her lover when met with a surprising pregnancy.
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Omelogor - Chiamaka's cousin and a former financial executive who questions her identity while pursuing graduate studies in the US.
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Kadiatou - A Guinean and Chiamaka's housekeeper residing in the US with her teenage daughter, and she endures a traumatic assault.
The story of the fourth lady among the ladies that the novel is based on is what fascinated me the most. This is because Kadiatou's story is based on the true-life Nafissatou Diallo case. The housekeeper at a Manhattan hotel, who was allegedly sexually assaulted by an IMF director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Now this is some story. I did not know about this story, which is quite old as of 2012. Some sources have it that it has been settled with an undisclosed amount, but this has only grown my interest in finding out how Chimamanda writes about Kadiatou, the housekeeper character, based on Nafissatou Diallo.
I would truly appreciate it if you share your thoughts in the comment section about this novel if you have read it or are currently reading it. Even spoilers are welcome, as I will still read it anyway.
That is all for now. Until next time.
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Thanks For Reading!
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