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Dream Count

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Dream Count

By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Narrated by: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Sandra Okuboyejo, A’rese Emokpae, Janina Edwards
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READ BY CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE, SANDRA OKUBOYEJO, A'RESE EMOKPAE AND JANINA EDWARDS.

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLER; LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025

A publishing event ten years in the making – a searing, exquisite new novel by the bestselling and award-winning author of Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists – the story of four women and their loves, longings and desires.

'The return of a literary titan' TELEGRAPH

CHOSEN AS A SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, FINANCIAL TIMES, INDEPENDENT, TELEGRAPH, GQ and COSMOPOLITAN BOOK OF 2025.

Chiamaka is a Nigerian travel writer living in America. Alone in the midst of the pandemic, she recalls her past lovers and grapples with her choices and regrets. Zikora, her best friend, is a lawyer who has been successful at everything until — betrayed and brokenhearted — she must turn to the person she thought she needed least. Omelogor, Chiamaka’s bold, outspoken cousin, is a financial powerhouse in Nigeria who begins to question how well she knows herself. And Kadiatou, Chiamaka’s housekeeper, is proudly raising her daughter in America – but faces an unthinkable hardship that threatens all she has worked to achieve.

In Dream Count, Adichie trains her fierce eye on these women in a sparkling, transcendent novel that takes up the very nature of love itself. Is true happiness ever attainable or is it just a fleeting state? And how honest must we be with ourselves in order to love, and to be loved? A trenchant reflection on the choices we make and those made for us, on daughters and mothers, on our interconnected world, Dream Count pulses with emotional urgency and poignant, unflinching observations on the human heart, in language that soars with beauty and power. It confirms Adichie’s status as one of the most exciting and dynamic writers on the literary landscape.

‘The major publication milestone of 2025’ OBSERVER

©2025 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (P)2025 Penguin Random House, LLC
Coming of Age Friendship Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction World Literature Dream Heartfelt
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Critic Reviews

‘Quintessential Adichie: ambitious, astute and powered by an accumulation of feather-light sentences that build to devastating weight. Masterly’ Guardian
‘A big book, richly marbled with criss-crossing storylines … powered by the simple but evergreen thrill of time spent in the company of flesh and blood characters lavishly imagined. It was worth the wait' Observer
'Deeply compelling' Washington Post
‘As finely constructed and evocatively realised as the rest of Adichie’s memorable work’ Harper’s Bazaar
‘This is a book that will make your heart ache, but in the best possible way, and it cements Adichie’s reputation as a storyteller of both heft and readability’ Good Housekeeping
‘Adichie is the master of writing about feelings which are difficult to put a finger on… She often says she is preoccupied with telling the truth. How often you will read a line from Dream Count and think how utterly true it is’ London Standard
‘Blisteringly emotive… richly written and acutely observed’ I News
‘A captivating and touching exploration of love, happiness, and the pursuit of fulfilment in modern society’ Cosmopolitan
‘Satisfyingly crafted’ Daily Mail
‘Every aspect of this transfixing, intimate and astute group portrait is ablaze with scorching insights into the maddening absurdities and injustices that continue to plague women’s lives. Magnificently vital’ Starred Booklist review
‘With Dream Count, you are not simply waiting for an ending; you are eagerly anticipating what comes next, all the while dreading the climax that you know will leave you breathless’ Glamour
‘So vivid I almost felt I had lived through it myself’ Literary Review
‘Will move, entertain and enthrall’ Mail on Sunday
‘A hard-hitting story of women seeking purpose, justice and sisterhood marks a blistering return by the Nigerian novelist’ Financial Times
'Ten years in the making and worth every minute of waiting!’ Elle
All stars
Most relevant
Really interesting read around Nigeria culture and the super rich due to corruption. Each of the four women's stories is an interesting differing of perception and experiences. Loved the trial and how it truly lifted the story. Some frustrations with some of the characters.

Interesting Read of a part of people

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It's a funny one this, it was a page turner for a good bit, especially Kadiatou's story, which it turns out is the one based on a true story & was the most compelling, but the end of the book kind of fizzled out. Not too sure what the point of the rest of the stories was really. Could it have been 2 different books, one about Kadi & one about the 3 friends 🤷‍♀️ While Zikora's & Omelogor's stories were interesting there was no real tie in apart from them knowing each other & having group calls about Kadi. Chiamaka's dream count was a euphemism for body count & dare I say it was probably too much, 3 contrasting relationships would've done it!

Maybe should have been 2 different books

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I liked how well this was written. The four main female characters with their interlocking lives and separate histories - looking at their hopes and dreams and frustrations and trials, with the African-accented narration by four different narrators, was excellent.

Well drawn African women

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I loved this audio book I have just finished it and want to start again I will look forward to listening to her other books

Richness of feelings

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This book is well worth reading & reflecting on the multi-faceted nature of the journey of life and it's challenges.

Amazing storytelling with the best author's note at the end

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.