Chimamanda, Chimamanda, Chimamanda… is one of the names that has resonated most exponentially in the world of books since the early 21st century. It’s a combination of words from the Igbo tribe of Nigeria, meaning “God will not fail” or “She will not fall”. It’ also the first name of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, one of the most globally impactful writers of recent decades, renowned for the quality of her literature, which addresses highly relevant issues such as racism, identity, multiculturalism, discrimination, and violence against women in their struggle for equality. These are some of the reasons why she is considered one of the most influential voices in contemporary feminism.

The literary and ideological universe of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (48 years old/ Abba, Nigeria, September 15, 1977) is centered on the fight for equality. From this perspective, she advocates for the harmonious coexistence of different sensibilities and approaches to feminism, from the woman who wants to be beautiful, wear makeup, or wear heels, to those who choose to face life in a more carefree or radical way, as proof of the diversity of humankind, but without demonizing relationships with men or seeking confrontation.

It is this philosophy that she has reflected in her books through stories that shed light on the female ecosystem, the injustices to which women have been subjected, and often continue to be, in all spheres, from the individual, familial, and emotional, to the social, cultural, professional, and existential.

This is the essence of her most recent novel, Dream Count (Random House). This is one of the many works in recent years that have addressed the reality of the female universe without prejudice or taboos. It’s a growing trend that Adichie celebrates, but she does have some observations about it, as she expressed in response to my question during a virtual press conference with journalists from Spain and Latin America in the fall of 2025:

“We need more women writing about this literature in a serious way. And by women, I mean books that aren’t just about women, but that are truly about women. I mean the inner lives of women, their complexities, their humanity—simply messy and wonderful.

I’ve often thought about how interesting it is, for example, that there are certain themes we take for granted in what we consider great literature. But much of that great literature was written by men, so obviously, it doesn’t represent women in all their complexity. It’s time we, as humanity, changed that”.

And Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been attempting this since 2003, when she debuted with Purple Hibiscus, followed by Half of a Yellow Sun in 2006, Americanah in 2013, the essay We Should We Should All Be Feminists in 2014, Feminismo Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions in 2017, and a more intimate work, Notes on Grief, in 2021, following the death of her father.

Twelve years later, in 2025, she returned to the novel with Dream Count, where she elaborates on the idea of ​​revealing more unknown or obscured truths about women through the stories of four of them: Chimaka, Zikora, Omelogor, and Kadiatou. A polyphonic work set against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, exploring dreams, love, identity, prejudice, desire, the lack of understanding between women and men, and the asymmetry in their relationships. It unfolds between Africa and the United States through the lives of four immigrant women, their dreams and hopes confronted by personal, emotional, professional, and social challenges. A narrative in which the writer draws attention to the female body on both an individual and political level:

“In this novel, it’s quite clear that I’m very interested in writing about women’s bodies and health. In a straightforward way, I write realistic fiction. I write the kind of fiction that I hope will give someone who reads it a hundred years from now an idea of ​​how we live today.

As women, our bodies really do matter. The shape of our bodies often molds who we are, what we can do, and sometimes even what we’re allowed to do. Of course, there are very drastic examples, like in some parts of Southeast Asia, where a woman is pregnant and, if she knows it’s a girl, the pregnancy is terminated because they don’t want a girl.

Women’s health receives less funding in the United States. I find it interesting that modern medicine can do wonderful things. We can reprogram a brain, but we can’t figure out how to help women who are going through menopause.

It’s actually quite interesting when you think about it. In the United States, topics like baseball have become Very interesting literary themes. Why not address the bodies and lives of women? I think we need more of that, even on a more practical level”.

It is then that the writer expands on these themes, offering a cross-cutting and integrative perspective, a feedback loop that benefits everyone and fosters coexistence:

“If more men read books about women’s lives, literature could improve communication between men and women. Women read books written by men, and women and men read books written by men. That’s why I think there’s often a kind of misunderstanding. In my novel, the character Zikora has a boyfriend who seems surprised when she tells him she’s pregnant. Suddenly, she considers that it’s possible he doesn’t know or understand the complexity of reproduction and the female body, and that when she tells him she wants to stop taking the pill, this is the consequence. And I must say that the story arose from something real that happened to a friend”.

A Few Dreams recounts and intertwines, in a way, the lives of four women, four ways of living, of being perceived, of being understood personally and socially. A novel that the author herself describes as follows:

“This is a novel that means a lot to me personally. Obviously, all my novels mean a lot to me, but this one is different. And it’s not just because it’s taken me so long to write a novel since my last one, twelve years ago. It’s also because I think this is the novel I’ve written as a very different person than the one who wrote my previous works. That’s why it’s different. I like to say that this is my truly adult novel.

This is the first novel I’ve written as a mother, but also as someone who no longer has parents. My parents were very important in my life. I lost them in 2020 and 2021 very unexpectedly. It was devastating for me. Only after my mother’s death did I begin to write this novel. I firmly believe that my mother’s spirit helped me write it. This novel has been in my head for years. The characters have been swirling around in my head, but for some reason, I hadn’t been able to finish it.

There are four characters; they are Nigerian women, and one is from Guinea, in West Africa. I called it ‘Dream,’ but it’s not just about that. It also addresses a broader idea of ​​how we live our lives, how we imagine the lives we could have led, who gets to dream, and whose dreams we respect. And what it means to dream, especially for a woman.

I also think it’s very much about the inner life and the complexities of women. It’s a book about women, a book that apologizes for women, but it’s not just for women. So it’s supposed to be about how we help men and give them relationship advice. And that was fun for me. And, in fact, I hoped it would be helpful for men in their relationships”.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie became a writer after beginning her studies in medicine and pharmacy at the age of 19. But her interest in literature and storytelling led her to drop out and explore other options, including a scholarship that took her to Drexel University in Philadelphia, a field more aligned with her true calling. There, she studied Communication and Political Science. Literature remains central to her life:

“Writing is my life’s passion. I’ve been writing since I knew how. From the beginning, I knew this is what I wanted to do. I’ve never let external pressure affect me. What I do deal with quite a bit is internal pressure, and I’m my own biggest critic. It wasn’t so much about my next book being as successful as Americanah. I wanted my next book to be one that I felt I’d done well with, if that makes sense. When I finished it, I wasn’t sure how it would perform. You’re never truly sure. Success doesn’t protect you from self-doubt”.

Regarding her writing process, she acknowledged that when she starts working, she has a vague idea of ​​what she wants to do, but she never knows how it will continue:

“The magic of writing fiction, and what I’m most grateful for, is that it’s quite magical. The writing process is a journey where I start writing and, suddenly, things happen in the story that I hadn’t fully planned”.

It is the miracle of writing, of the often spontaneous emergence of knowledge, and also of the evolution of the voice, about which Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has a clear idea:

“I read somewhere that writers are constantly rewriting the same novel. Perhaps I am still rewriting the same thing. There are things that interest me today that didn’t interest me when I wrote Half of a Yellow Sun in 2006, when I was in my early twenties. And perhaps it’s not so much the subject matter, but rather the atmosphere and the approach to the subject.

I have always been interested in women’s lives, but now that I am older, my interest in women’s health and bodies has increased. At this age, I am much more interested in the lives of boys and men than I was in my early twenties. I am still interested in the same things, but perhaps in different and deeper ways. I remain fascinated by one of my great fascinations: how the past shapes us. So history has always been a great passion of mine. I am increasingly interested in the Second World War”.

From that encounter with the Spanish-speaking press emerged this literary ecosystem of the Nigerian writer:

Identity, Feminism, and Africa

“Literature is essential to us as human beings. History is essential to us as human beings, simply because it is told. At the same time, I am always moved when my novels are, in a manner of speaking, useful. Did I write this novel because I hoped to contribute to some kind of political or social discourse? Not really. I wanted to write a story about women. But, at the same time, I recognize that yes, it can be part of the idea of ​​Africa, of African women, of immigrants, and of many other things.

I hope that people read it simply as a novel about people’s loves, hopes, and dreams. But also, as a secondary and perhaps even tertiary point, that they read it as a new way of seeing the lives of women, particularly Black African women”.

Love and Change

“I feel that love has become even more precious to me. It’s not that I’m unsure of the people I love, it’s that I’m unsure of tomorrow. The idea that you can lose someone you love makes love much more fragile, much more precious.

I’ve also become someone who understands love for everyone, and who understands forgiveness as a big part of love. I mean forgiveness in a very broad sense, as tolerance, where you realize you don’t need perfection”.

Pressure on Women

“There has been some progress for women, but there is still a long way to go. In many parts of the world, but to varying degrees, there is still a lot of pressure on women. Sometimes it’s internal pressure they put on themselves, sometimes it’s pressure from society, family, or friends. To get married, or if not, to find a partner. Even for professional women, and it may be even more difficult for women who have ambitions, who want to do things with their lives. That pressure is always there. I should clarify that I’m talking about heterosexual women”.

Friendship and Women

“This novel is a celebration of female friendship. In my personal life, female friendship has been essential. Having a good friend means that you often don’t need to explain much. There’s an intuitive understanding.

It’s important to say that I don’t think all women get along or support each other, because it’s also important to recognize that there are women who don’t like women. That’s why I believe that a good, deep, and real female friendship is almost a revolutionary act.

Women alone cannot solve the problem of female marginalization. We cannot rely solely on the victims to fix a system of injustice. Men must be part of the solution”.

Masculinity and Violence

“Generally, I don’t like to use the expression ‘toxic masculinity,’ nor other expressions I tend to use, because they are used so often that they lose their meaning, and many times when I hear them, I wonder, ‘What do they really mean?’

What boys are taught about masculinity is not masculinity. For example, violence, especially hitting women and girls, is hitting someone who is clearly weaker than you. That’s not strength, it’s insecurity. We shouldn’t call men’s violence masculinity, because it isn’t, and it’s important to teach boys this.

Masculinity is that idea of ​​courage, justice, and strength, but a strength that is used positively. I don’t think that the abuse of girls and women is decreasing. It’s important that we focus not only on the victims, but also on the perpetrators.

It’s important to redefine masculinity, and by that I don’t mean that we should feminize it. Masculinity is not violence.

It’s important that we ask ourselves: Do you know what’s happening to children? What are we doing wrong in how we raise them? We’re not doing a very good job. It’s important that we, as a global society, start asking ourselves more questions about how to reduce this problem. I insist, it’s not just about focusing on the victims”.

Immigration and Dreams

“As human beings, being alive means constantly reaching for things we often can’t touch, but which we keep trying to reach anyway.

It’s difficult not to talk about immigration and immigrants when writing a novel like this. The act of leaving home is an act of dreaming. Immigration should be framed within the context of dreaming. Why do people leave home? Because they dream of something more. It’s horrifying that those who dare to dream of something more and something better are criminalized and treated so inhumanely”.

Writing and Grief

“Grieving my parents’ death has been a learning experience about myself and what it means to be human. Grieving for my parents’ death generated a certain uncertainty, but that uncertainty was actually good for creativity because it liberated me.

This novel is different, too, because I felt a sense of freedom while writing it, even because my sentences are longer. I’m more willing to enjoy my love of language in a way I didn’t have before.

I’m not sure about writing as a form of therapy, because it doesn’t replace it. But I do believe it plays an important role in helping you cope with something very painful. It’s not a novel about grief, but it emerged from a place of grief. I wrote it when I was deeply grieved, but it’s not a sad book. In fact, the few moments of laughter I had while writing it were very helpful, and I hope readers will find humor in it. Humor is very important; the ability to laugh is essential in life”.

• With translation assistance from Robert Lienhard.

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