'Dream Count' is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first novel in more than a decade

Summary

NPR's Book of the Day: "Dream Count" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Episode Release Date: March 10, 2025
Host: Andrew Limbong
Interviewee: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Duration: Approximately 8 minutes

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Introduction: Adichie's Triumphant Return to Fiction

In this episode of NPR's Book of the Day, host Andrew Limbong introduces Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s highly anticipated novel, Dream Count, marking her first foray into fiction in over a decade. Adichie, renowned for her critically acclaimed novels like Americanah and her influential essays on feminism and human rights, discusses her return to fiction and the personal journey that reignited her passion for storytelling.

Andrew Limbong [00:02]: "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first novel in more than a decade is out. It's titled Dream Count, and in this interview she talks to NPR's Michelle Martin about how in the gap between Americanah and Dream Count, she was learning a thing or two about herself."

Overcoming Writer’s Block Through Self-Discovery

Adichie candidly addresses the period of silence in her fiction writing, referring to it as "writer's block," though she expresses discomfort with the term due to her superstitious nature. During this hiatus, she focused on writing speeches, essays, and even a children's book, but it was her deep self-exploration that ultimately rejuvenated her fiction writing.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie [01:39]: "I went through what people like to call writer's block, which is an expression I do not like because I'm very superstitious."

She emphasizes the difference between writing fiction and nonfiction, describing the former as a "magical" process that provides profound meaning to her life.

Adichie [01:53]: "Writing fiction is the love of my life. It's the thing that I think gives me meaning. And it's quite different. I mean, the entire process is very different from writing nonfiction with fiction. It's magical."

Exploring Self-Knowledge and Human Connection

Adichie delves into how her personal experiences, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of her father, prompted her to question her self-awareness and how well she is known by others. This introspection became the cornerstone of Dream Count, reflecting her longing to be truly understood by another person.

Adichie [02:58]: "I consider myself fortunate to have been known, I think. And yet I question how well I've been known."

She shares a poignant moment during her father's passing that revealed unexpected emotional depths, further fueling her exploration of self and relationships in her novel.

Adichie [03:08]: "When I heard the news of my father's death, I threw myself down on the ground and I was pounding the floor, and I did not realize I was doing this."

Characters and Interwoven Narratives in "Dream Count"

Dream Count features four interconnected women, three tied to Nigeria and one to Guinea. Adichie provides a glimpse into each character’s background and personality:

1. Chiamaka: A privileged Nigerian travel writer residing in the U.S. who grapples with her writing aspirations.
2. Zikora: Chiamaka’s practical best friend, a lawyer based in Washington, D.C.
3. Omelogo: Chiamaka’s brilliant and unconventional cousin living in Nigeria, thriving in the banking sector.
4. Kadjiatu: A Guinean immigrant in the U.S. who endures a harrowing personal experience.

Adichie [04:09]: "Chiamaka is the Nigerian woman who lives in the U.S. she's a travel writer who wishes that she were a better writer than she is. ... the fourth character, and this is the character that's most precious to me is Kadjiatu, and she's from Guinea, and she is an immigrant in the US and she experiences this very painful thing."

Incorporating Real-Life Events: The Story of Kadjiatu

Adichie touches upon the inspiration behind Kadjiatu’s character, drawing parallels to the real-life case of Nafisatu Diallo, a hotel worker who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault in 2011. While Kadjiatu is not a direct representation of Diallo, the character embodies the struggles of powerless women seeking dignity and justice.

Adichie [05:58]: "This character is not her. I mean, apart from the tiny kernel of the story of the assault."

She clarifies that Kadjiatu is a composite character representing countless women worldwide facing similar adversities, highlighting themes of powerlessness and the quest for human dignity.

Adichie [06:44]: "But I think for me, that character is not just about Nafisatu Jello, it's also about all the women. And there's so many women like her across the world who, because they are powerless, are not given a certain kind of human dignity."

Balancing Serious Themes with Humor

Despite tackling heavy subjects, Adichie’s narrative in Dream Count is infused with humor, providing a balanced and relatable portrayal of her characters' lives. The host notes the nuanced depiction of male characters, who often serve as catalysts in the female protagonists' journeys.

Michelle Martin [07:03]: "But I do have to say the book is very funny. I mean, it's very funny."

Adichie acknowledges that while her focus is on women's lives, the men in the story are depicted in ways that reflect the compromises and challenges women often face in their relationships.

Adichie [07:28]: "For many women, the men in their lives, in some ways shape their lives. ... women are socialized to be the ones who compromise more, who hold back their dreams for people they love."

Conclusion: A Personal and Universal Exploration

In wrapping up, Adichie likens her characters to herself, underscoring the personal nature of her storytelling while addressing universal themes of identity, connection, and resilience. Her return to fiction with Dream Count is both a personal catharsis and a commentary on broader societal issues affecting women.

Adichie [07:50]: "All of them. Ami Michelle. All of them. Madame Bovary, c'est moi."

"Dream Count" is now available, offering readers a rich tapestry of interconnected lives that explore the depths of human emotion and the complexities of self-understanding.

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Notable Quotes:

• "Writing fiction is the love of my life. It's the thing that I think gives me meaning." — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie [01:53]
• "I have always longed to be known, truly known, by another human being." — Adichie [02:22]
• "Madame Bovary, c'est moi." — Adichie [07:50]

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Note: Time stamps in brackets refer to the position in the provided transcript.

Transcript

[Andrew Limbong]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. From 2013 into 2014, it seemed like everyone in my life was reading Americanah by Chimamada Ngozi Adichie. Friends of mine were scouring bookstores for previous books she'd written, and when Beyonce sampled one of Adichie's speeches in her song Flawless, forget about it, her literary stock went through the roof. But then she stayed quiet on the fiction front, at least until now. Her first novel in more than a decade is out. It's titled Dreamcount, and in this interview she talks to NPR's Michelle Martin about how in the gap between Americana and Dreamcount, she was learning a thing or two about herself, about how getting to truly know herself allowed the fiction writing process to start up again. That's ahead.

[Charles Schwab]

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[Michelle Martin]

This message comes from Bluehost. Bluehost can make building a great website easy and offers a 30 day money back guarantee. Customize and launch your site in minutes with AI, then optimize with built in search engine tools. Get your great [e-mail] Nigerian Reddit Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first three novels won prizes and critical acclaim, two were optioned for movies and one, Americana, sold more than a million copies in the US Alone. But then, for some reason, the words stopped.

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]

I went through what people like to call writer's block, which is an expression I do not like because I'm very superstitious.

[Michelle Martin]

She did write speeches and essays on feminism, human rights and grief, even a children's book. But the novel eluded her until now.

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]

Writing fiction is the love of my life. It's the thing that I think gives me meaning. And it's quite different. I mean, the entire process is very different from writing nonfiction with fiction. It's magical.

[Michelle Martin]

Her new novel, Dream Count, just out today, tells the interconnected stories of four women, three with ties to Nigeria, the fourth to Guinea. But even before the characters came to her, she says there was a phrase lodged in her mind, waiting to be put to use. It became the first sentence of her book.

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]

I have always longed to be known, truly known, by another human being. It's been floating in my head for years, and I knew I would write something with that as kind of the kernel of the story. But I really do not know how these women came. They came to me. And it's difficult for me often to talk about the choices I make in fiction in a very narrowly intellectual way, because there's so much that's intuitive.

[Michelle Martin]

You said you'd carried that line in your head for years. I wonder why.

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]

I don't know. I think.

[Michelle Martin]

I mean.

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]

And I consider myself fortunate to have been known, I think. And yet I question how well I've been known. One of the things that happened to me during COVID was that using my father made me question how well I knew myself. And when I heard the news of my father's death, I threw myself down on the ground and I was pounding the floor, and I did not realize I was doing this. And afterwards, I was shocked by it because I think if he'd asked me how I would react to losing my father, I think I would have said that I would just go numb and completely cold. And so that made me think, my goodness, I did not realize I had this level of melodrama. You know, I sort of half joke about it now. But it did make me think about how well do I know myself? How well am I known by other people? How well do I know other people? And there's just a general longing, I think, that I've always had. I mean. And I'm very fortunate. I have a wonderful family. So it doesn't come from a lack of love, but still it's there.

[Michelle Martin]

Tell us about the four women around whom you organized the book, your four principal characters.

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]

So Chiamaka is the Nigerian woman who lives in the U.S. she's a travel writer who wishes that she were a better writer than she is. And she's very privileged. She comes from a very wealthy family. Her best friend, Zikora, who lives in Washington, D.C. and is a lawyer, is quite different from her. Zikora is very practical. And Omelogo is Chiamaka's cousin, and she lives in Nigeria. She's a very successful banker. She's brilliant, and she's also very unconventional. And the fourth character, and this is the character that's most precious to me is Kadjiatu, and she's from guinea, and she is an immigrant in the US and she experiences this very painful thing.

[Michelle Martin]

I'm trying to figure out how to talk about what happens to Kadiatou without giving it away. She's based on something that happened with his Nafisatu. Diallo was a hotel worker who accused the then Head of the IMF and also the presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss Kahn, so called DSK. She accused him of sexual assault in 2011. She was a hotel cleaner, and she went into his room and she said that he assaulted her. He was, in fact, arrested, but then the charges were dropped because all these things emerged about how her journey and so forth, at least in the eyes of the prosecution, made her an unreliable witness. And people forget that, obviously, if you follow these things, it's a very traumatic experience. But this is before the MeToo movement. You said this character is very dear to you. Tell us why this was so dear to you and why it was so important to you to include this. I don't even want to say story. Story feels diminishing, but it's not meant to be.

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]

Yes. When I first heard the story of this woman who had accused this very powerful man of assault, I followed it very closely. I felt connected to her for, I think, you know, obvious reasons. She's quite different from me. She's from Guinea, I'm Nigerian, she's Muslim, I'm Christian, and she's walking class. I'm not. But she felt, to me quite familiar and knowable, and I felt protective of her. But it wasn't until the case was dropped that I just felt something like rage. It became, for me, not just about her. And so this character that I've written, I've actually really invented the character. The character is not her. I mean, apart from the tiny kernel of the story of the assault.

[Michelle Martin]

Yes, you're very clear about that. I just want to make that very clear.

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]

Yeah. So it's really not her. I've invented everything. But I think for me, that character is not just about Nafisatu Jello, it's also about all the women. And there's so many women like her across the world who, because they are powerless, are not given a certain kind of human dignity.

[Michelle Martin]

We've had a very serious conversation here. But I do have to say the book is very funny. I mean, it's very funny.

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]

Yes.

[Michelle Martin]

But some of the. Okay, all right. I will say this. The men don't come off particularly well in this book. I don't know if you feel that way, but some of them are kind of. Kind of trash, at least as depicted by you in this book. Some of these men are just trash. I'm sorry.

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]

But you know what? I wanted to write about women's lives. And the reality of it is that for many women, the men in their lives, in some ways shape their lives. You know, generally that women are socialized to be the ones who compromise more, who hold back their dreams for people they love, that kind of thing.

[Michelle Martin]

And you know, I'm going to ask, are any of these people you?

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]

All of them. Ami Michelle. All of them. Madame Bovary, c'est moi.

[Michelle Martin]

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is the author of Dreamcount. It is out now. Thank you so much for joining us once again.

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]

Thank you so much. This was wonderful. Thank you.

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