Subterranean Human Longing: A Guest Post by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A beloved and critically-acclaimed author with an ever-growing social media following returns with an unforgettable new story of love and friendship, identity and race. Read on for an exclusive essay from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on writing Dream Count.
Hardcover
$29.00
$32.00
Dream Count: A Novel (B&N Exclusive Edition)
Dream Count: A Novel (B&N Exclusive Edition)
In Stock Online
Hardcover
$29.00
$32.00
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
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 first sentence of this novel – ‘I have always longed to be known, truly known, by another human being’ – has floated in my consciousness for many years. It is true of me. I feel myself fortunate to have been known, and yet I question how well I have been known. In this way I am interested in that subterranean human longing, which is also a kind of unassuageable loneliness. Perhaps we can never be fully known because even to ourselves we are sometimes mysterious; we often surprise ourselves, after all, and our thoughts and actions can be unexpected even to us.
So I knew I would write a story with that line as its beating heart. Years passed. I was also thinking of how we imagine other lives we might have led, even when we are content in the life we do lead. A kind of wish to explore all the possible routes our destiny could have taken. Then my father died and I came undone. I wrote about my father and discovered a new voice, less careful, more expansive, deeper. Only months later, my mother died and my grief was a consuming flame and, in that inferno, I began to write fiction again.
The writing process was much more difficult than my previous novels because my life was very different. The devastation of losing both my parents in a short time hung like a shadow over the writing process. In general, I am a much slower writer now. Fiction feels more hard-worn and hard-fought. And, therefore, even more precious.
Dream Count is about the interlinked desires of four women, but, in a deeply personal way, it is really about losing my mother. I saw my mother’s spirit especially in the strong presence of mothers and daughters. I wrote this novel from a place of deep grief but I knew I didn’t want it to be about grief. I wanted it to be multi-faceted and I wanted it to be shot through with humor.
It’s about love and longing. I hope it will make a reader think and hopefully, once in a while, laugh. Most of all, I think the best literature engages our emotions and I hope this makes people feel something.
