Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Dream Count (Harper Collins, 2025) ****

"Dream Count" refers to the list of potential true lovers than Chia, the lead voice in this novel, has had yet failed to turn into true romantic and eternal deep love. She is a Nigerian author living in the United States, and interacting with her two best Nigerian friends: her cousin Omelogor, and Zikora, both of whom are not really on friendly terms, but get called into Zoom calls by Chia, because it's the period of lockdown in the Covid-19 pandemic. All three are well-to-do and well-educated. Chia is a would-be author, but also making a name as a travel writer. Omelogor prefers to live in Nigeria, and works as a financial consultant, after having been a big shot in one of Nigeria's banks, and Zikora is a corporate lawyer living in DC. All three are concerned and discuss the fate of Chia's maid, Kadiatou, hailing from Guinea and involved in a rape case inspired by the court case between IMF head Dominique Strauss Kahn and a hotel maid in 2011.  The novel mentions the incident, and that the perpetrator was a French high official of an international organisation, but without mentioning his name. 

Apart from the interrogations and upcoming trial for the rape case, there is no real plot in the novel. The four protagonists each tell their personal history and thoughts on love and society from their own personal perspectives. They talk about their countries, their travels, their family, their friends and lovers. It is programmatic in the sense that all types of men appear to have been one-time lovers of the three forty-year olds. The men are described one by one, some at length, some just briefly. Promising new relationships unfortunately all fail because of some short-comings the men have. 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie writes extremely well. Her view on society and men through the eyes of the women is harsh, honest, brutal, sensitive, generous and very angry at times. Her feminist agenda is clear, but that should not spoil the fun. The comments and viewpoints of the women are smart, often justified, and made me frequently laugh out loud, yet the deep dark evil of the rape of the maid, the least educated, the most innocent, the most vulnerable gives the book much more depth and seriousness contrasted by the predicament of the three rich narrators who are waiting for mister right. A novel of contrasts, giving an interesting insights in the perspectives of African women living in the United States, but especially one of solidarity among women in world that is far from perfect.