'Dream Count' is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first novel in more than a decade
'Dream Count' is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first novel in more than a decade  
Podcast: NPR's Book of the Day
Published On: Mon Mar 10 2025
Description: Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie hasn't published a novel in more than a decade. After writing literary hits like Americanah and essays like the popular We Should All Be Feminists, the author says she went through a period of writer's block. But now, she's out with a new novel Dream Count that tells the stories of four interconnected women. In today's episode, Adichie speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about a phrase that lodged itself in the author's mind and ultimately served as the book's first line. They also talk about a loss that caused Adichie to question how well she knew herself and a real-life sexual assault case that inspired her to write one of the novel's central characters.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy