Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Dream Count explores the lives of three Nigerian women, Chiamaka, Zikora, and Omelogor, and one Guinean woman, Kadiatou, and their dreams and destinies. Chiamaka, a travel writer, recalls her past lovers as she is stuck at home during the Covid pandemic. Zikora is a successful lawyer who believes she has failed at other aspects of life. Omelogor is a banker who launders money to help poor women start their businesses. Kadiatou works in housekeeping at a hotel where she faces a tragedy that upends the life she had built for herself and her daughter in America. What unites these women is the resilience they have had to build to survive in a world that is tainted with misogyny and violence.
Through Chiamaka, Adichie captures the emotional exhaustion brought on by the covid pandemic. ‘Every morning, I was hesitant to rise, because to get out of bed was to approach again the possibility of sorrow,’ she writes. She recalls her relationship with a man, Darnell, which had turned into an obsession. With Darnell, Chiamaka had to fight for every morsel of intimacy. Darnell mocked her for her wealth while he enjoyed the benefits of the same wealth – fancy birthday trips, expensive gadgets, fine wine and dining. Chia wants to talk to Omelogor about Darnell but resists doing so because she is afraid of the self-respect and strength Omelogor brings out in her. When Chia finally finds a man who seems dream-like, she realises her desires might differ from what society wants her to desire.
Adichie also explores the relationships women have with each other; these are the relationships they fall back on. She has dedicated Dream Count to her beloved mother, who passed away in 2021. She writes about mothers and daughters in this book, and she ends the book with the final scene about a mother and daughter starting a new life together. Chiamaka’s mother is a woman blessed with beauty and wealth, and the world expects more humility from such a woman. Zikora’s mother comes to her rescue when she most needs it. A very vulnerable Zikora finds strength when her mother opens up about her own past. Her mother had a painful hysterectomy but kept it a secret from her father, who later married another woman to birth a son. She believes that a woman without a womb is a useless woman. Motherhood is a precious gift for Kadiatou. She does what she must to make a life for her daughter in America.
Zikora is a successful lawyer who has economic freedom, but what she most wants depends on a man. She wants to get married and have a child, but she is growing older and time is running out. When she finally gets pregnant, she is abandoned by the man she loves. Zikora, Omelogor, and Chiamaka have to navigate a world where men ask for fertility tests before they decide if you are worthy of love. The men they meet don’t believe in nannies or autonomy for married women who have children. Men can’t be trusted. They lie, and their true intentions are always hidden.
Kaditou’s world, however, holds different dangers. Battling economic destitution, Kadi has made a life working as a housekeeper at a large hotel where powerful men come to stay. Powerful men dismiss the humanity of women such as Kadi. At the heart of this book lies the story of Kaditou, who endures endless grief in Guinea, and just when she begins carving a space for herself in America, she is raped at her workplace. The white man who rapes Kadi is an important man who believes his actions will have no consequences. He believes that Kadi won’t report him. Kadi does not trust the justice system, and she would have preferred to stay quiet about the assault. As she is questioned repeatedly by multiple white men, she worries about the inconvenience she has caused to everyone around her. She does not even expect justice; instead, she worries about going back to work and making a life for her daughter. She thinks herself undeserving of the care and attention of the few people who support her.
Adichie wrote Dream Count to shed light on the challenges faced by countless women in the pre-MeToo era. Weaving in accounts of painful childbirth, miscarriages, hysterectomies and genital mutilation, this is a tale of the gut-wrenching realities of womanhood. Adichie’s writing peels back layers of grief and violence in the lives of her heroines. It tells stories of female solidarity and the resilience of women. And it takes an unforgiving look at the world that forces women to build this resilience to survive.