Dream Count, 2025, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ****

Dream Count is the story of four women Chiamaka, Zikora, Kadiatou and Omelogor and from the very first pages, I felt like I had been invited into their private group chat. The kind where ambition, heartbreak, pride and vulnerability all sit at the same table.

Chiamaka is born into wealth and raised in comfort, yet she chooses the uncertain life of a travel writer. She circles the globe while dating vigorously, convinced that somewhere between boarding gates and hotel lounges she will meet the man who completes her story. Zikora, her friend who migrates from Nigeria to the United States, is a sharp corporate lawyer. She wants the wedding of her dreams, the husband of her dreams and the perfectly curated family life. At the same time, she is carrying the quiet ache of wanting to reconcile with her mother. Kadiatou’s story is the one that lingers. Born poor in Guinea Conakry, she becomes Chiamaka’s help. After being raped in a VIP hotel room by a

A Bit of Difference, 2012, Sefi Atta ****

One of the reasons why I have not read this book for a long time is because of its low ratings on Goodreads and Amazon. My interest rekindled when I reviewed Americanah and one my readers said it is the same story line as A Bit of Difference by Seffi Atta. However, I wonder why it is so low rated. Most readers say it is because of the writing style, let me tell you, there is nothing wrong with the writing style it is just different and does not complicate the comprehension of the story. Some say that they do not like the ending, however, it is a typical open-ended story that does not deserve those low ratings.

A Bit of Difference is similar to Americanah, it talks  about racism, hair, love, immigration, family matters, homosexuality and nothing in particular. Seffi Atta intervened in the telling of the story and would not let

My Friend Matt and Hena The Whore, 1988, Adam Zameenzad ****

One peculiar fiction written through the voice and eyes of a ten year old. Peculiar, because the young lad narrates on such a devastating war in his country and still makes you laugh.

My Friend Matt and Hena the Whore is set in a fictitious country in Africa. Matt, Golam, Hena and Kimo the narrator are childhood friends, all under the age of ten. Funny, witty, inventive and resourceful, always on the watch to lend a hand. When civil war erupted, they volunteered to leave their village in order to provide for their families and villagers. They never knew it was the beginning of their misfortune.  Now,  this is not like Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan that was so uncomfortable to read due to the constant blatant "poverty porn" as one of my friends (whom I agree with) puts it. Kimo, the narrator is extremely honest in his narrative, his childhood manners always present in the way he talks. The author did a wonderful job.

In the quote below, Kimo still did not understand that Pasadena, California, USA is a place that exists on earth and not a type of hell. Throughout the novel he was very adamant about not wanting himself nor his loved ones to go there after death.

I wonder if he is right that the Spirit of Grandma will be lost in "eternal darkness", or go to "Hell", or worst of all, to Pasadena, California, USA. That's where the missionary bloke had run out from, and where he said was "rife with carnal sin and mortal evil".

In a different situation an adult was trying to make sense with a pointless debate. Talk about the pot calling kettle black.

He says Jak oughtn't to mind much as it isn't his money anyway. it is part of the money which some countries send to our country to help our people, but which never gets to our people. It is used by people like Jak and the Government for buying guns and bullets and bombs and fighter planes to keep the people down. Instead of feeding them, as it is meant to do. So the people have  a right to it. We ask him what they'll be doing with the money. He says they'll be buying guns and bullets and bombs and fighter planes to fight the Government. 

Adam Zameenzad, the author is herein addressing the consequences of ruthless and senseless war through the eyes and voice of a child and still makes you laugh. Children who refuse to loose their innocence even when the war in their country was at full blast with the shootings, bombings, famine, abuse and death of their loved ones. In the dedication Adam writes:

In the hope that at some stage in the life of this planet no man or woman will have to experience the shame of writing another book like this one again.

I highly recommend.

My copy of this novel was published by Fourth Estate Limited in Great Britain. 218 pages.

Half of a yellow sun, 2006, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie *****

I read this one two years after it came out, and it became an instant favourite, one I still return to and recommend without hesitation. I actually still have my original review from back then, and I can't help but smile at how excited I was:

"It was so entertaining and I learnt a lot... I learnt too much, you must read it."

Younger me wasn't wrong, even if she was a little short on words for it.

Chimamanda does something remarkable here. The novel went on to win the Orange Prize for Fiction, and it's easy to see why: the writing is sharp, accessible, and impossible to put down, the kind of book that pulls you in from the first page and doesn't let go.

At its heart, this is a deeply personal story set against the backdrop of the Biafran War, love, betrayal, desperation, and the fragile bonds that hold people together when everything else is falling apart. What struck me most was how it opened my eyes to what that war truly meant, not just as a historical event, but as something that reshaped ordinary Nigerian families across every class, in ways both devastating and quietly resilient.

This is a book I recommend to absolutely everyone. If you haven't read it yet, start here.

This novel has also been reviewed in Spanish, over at Literafrica by Sonia Fernandez. You can read that review here.

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