Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Book Review

 

Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have always longed to be known, truly known, by another human being. Sometimes we live for years with yearnings that we cannot name. Until a crack appears in the sky and widens and reveals us to ourselves, as the pandemic did, because it was during lockdown that I began to sift through my life and give names to things long unnamed.

Four women, each strong and independent in their own way, struggle against the double, or indeed quadruple standards of societal expectations; reaching for what they want, what they deserve, but devastated by how much of themselves they have to suppress in its pursuit.

Chia loved the idea of love, so eagerly, so unwisely.

There is a lot that worked in Dream Count, starting with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's brilliant writing that can evoke resonant emotions in people cultures and continents away. The novel isn't a linear time story, but is more a collection of formative experiences and occurrences in the lives of the four women, like vignettes showcasing how they were struck with each occurrence. This construction works to highlight the themes of sexism, immigrant injustices and financial status explored, among other things. Adichie's understanding of people and societies shines through in every vignette.

She [Zikora] relates with women only through the pain caused them by men. That I do not trade in stories of my love-inflicted wounds is my [Omelogor] unforgivable failing.

The whole book somehow disappointingly adds up to less than the sum of the parts - the character sketches, the writing and world-building, the premise as well as the themes explored. Chia, Zikora and Omelogor are such clever, strong, independent and resourceful women, but seem to give away too much control to other people and institutions over too many years, or suppressed themselves too much. A lot of the petty bickering/ internal judgement when talking to each other didn't help. They didn't seem to have to grown or changed much over the years, though they were in shock over a few events, though this was difficult to judge as the timelines jumped around a bit.

Zikora felt cheered by this news, by the sense that misery was now being evenly spread. Omelogor crying? Omelogor could cry? Whatever America had done to her, God bless America.

Kadiatou can't be grouped with the other characters as she was based on a real person, or at least real events, but with a fictional back story. She suffered so much, her struggle to build a life in a new country overthrown suddenly, but even a case against the assaulter that was much discussed in public platforms does not lead to justice. Her response at the end to the case being dropped was markedly different to the public statements made at the time, anger and disappointment changed to relief and acceptance that do a disservice to the very real person's feelings and rights, no matter what the author's note says about reclamation. This added to the disappointment with the whole book.

There was a bone that birthed courage and Kadiatou believed she lacked that bone, or if she had it then it was feeble, soft and chewable like biscuit-bone.

🌟🌟🌟
[Half a star for the premise and the whole book; Half a star for the characters and their growth; Half a star for the plot and themes; 3/4 star for the world-building and societal description; 3/4 star for the writing - 3 stars in total.]

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The Rushworth Family Plot by Claudia Gray: Book Review

The Rushworth Family Plot by Claudia Gray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Even amid the deepest and most sincere grief, there is often a strong curiosity about the contents of a will. Avarice can strike like a viper, even within otherwise benevolent hearts... And where the contents of a will are surprising, even shocking, the news of those contents will spread with remarkable speed.

Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney meet in London during The Season in The Rushworth Family Plot and have to solve yet another murder (or two), while also navigating social intricacies without set rules of etiquette, try to understand where they stand on moral issues, semi-plot to convince their parents they are a good match for each other, and more easily bask in each others' attentions.

Jonathan and Juliet continue to grow as detectives solving macabre murders, although quite a bit of the novel is centered on the moral issues Jane Austen's Mansfield Park addresses openly like infedility, and mentions offhand between the lines like slavery. Exploring means, motive and opportunity for the murders forces several characters to confront their morality, which was interesting to read, but seemed a bit unlikely considering the time period these novels are set in.

Though it is naturally difficult to completely capture the essences of someone else's characters, written a long time ago, Claudia Gray's not quite Austen-like writing brings across some of the characteristics we've come to know and expect. However, balancing this with the character arcs hinted at in Austen's novels and perhaps growth that might be expected in some of them given time, this series is starting to require a higher degree of suspension of disbelief of the various mentality vascillations seen in the continuing attempts to bring so many Austen characters together. The plot held for most of the novel, but some of the twists, especially at the end, to further the investigation as well as provide opportunity for more drama in the future seem far-fetched. On the whole, still a fun read, and I'm warily looking forward to the possible next book.

Jonathan sighed. He knew the rules of etiquette as well as any (and better than most), but he could not see the sense of any rule that made it impolite to keep to one’s own house and read one’s own books. Still, such rules had to be obeyed even— especially, it seemed— when they made no sense at all.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. The quotes included here are from the unpublished draft but provide a good sample of the writing.

🌟🌟1/2🌟
[Half a star for the premise and the whole book; Half a star for the characters and their growth; 1/4 star for the plot and themes explored; Half a star for the world-building; 3/4 star for the writing - 2 1/2 stars in total, rounded up to 3 stars.]

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The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis: Book Review

 

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Vivian just had to make a good impression. In a town where she was by definition an outsider, in a culture she couldn’t hope to join, with nothing less than her daughter’s entire future riding on her success. She swallowed, her mouth gone dry.

Vivian and Daniel have to move to a new town with their kindergarten daughter Aria for school when she gets bitten by a werewolf and join The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association, which seems to have as many pitfalls for mundane reasons as for ignorance of magic culture. They all scramble with additional responsibilities, each dealing with the move in their own way, to try and fit in here as they don't think they'll get a chance like this in any other place.

Caitlin Rozakis writes a biting satire (sometimes too sharply), of the pressures the education system places on students and their parents, with a clarity that probably arose from some degree of familiarity but also a lot of wit to help them tide over their growing pains. And the characters do grow a lot, even the parents, as they realise they weren't as alone in this fight as they had originally thought - they just have to look for true friends.

Though primarily meant to be a cozy fantasy, the novel also takes a long look at how difficult it is to adjust to a new community with new rules, and how anxiety inducing it can be. While magical prophecies and doomsday proclamations can overset any event, the parents learn that sometimes it is the more mundane things like greed, ambition and fiduciary deception that can really hurt a community. The plot and narration tries to achieve a good balance of the fantastic new magics and cute kindergartener antics with the darker aspects of being the new-comers in over their heads, and sometimes the difficulties overweigh the fantastic but it was good to see therapy sessions having a positive effect through the book.

On the whole, recommended for anyone looking for cozy school fantasy with witty writing and a dash of reality mirrored in it.

She’d read her share of fantasy novels. Like most kids, she’d pictured herself in the role of the Chosen One plenty of times. She hadn’t given much thought to what it might be like to realize your kid wasn’t the Chosen One. Worse, was the Unchosen One, the bad guy in the prophecy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan publishers for the advanced reader copy, all opinions are honest.

🌟🌟🌟1/2🌟
[3/4 star for the premise and the whole book; 3/4 star for the characters; Half a star for the world-building; 3/4 star for the story and themes; 3/4 star for the writing - 3 1/2 stars in total.]

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