Award-winning Nigerian author, writer, and feminist Chimamanda Adichie recently had a no-holds-barred interview with The Guardian UK.
In the interview, she opened up about her soon-to-be-released novel, Dream Count which comes after a 10-year break. She also talked about the birth of her twins in April 2024, grief and the death of her parents, the complex nature of women and their health, what writing does to her, and many more issues.
Here are some excerpts from the interview below.
1. Welcoming twins and keeping their birth private
Adichie speaks on welcoming twin boys and why she kept their birth private.
She said: “I want to protect my children. I’m OK with having them mentioned, but I don’t want the piece to become about them.” “So, here’s the thing, Nigerians are … ” Nosy? “They want to know about your personal life. Because of that, I am resistant. I very rarely talk about it.”
2. Returning to writing after a 10-year hiatus
She revealed that after becoming pregnant with her daughter, she experienced a creative block that lasted for years, making her feel disconnected from her imaginative self.
“I didn’t want to leave such a long gap between novels,” she says. “When I got pregnant [with her daughter], something just happened. I had a number of years in which I was almost existentially frightened that I wouldn’t write again. It was unbearable.
“There are expressions like ‘writer’s block’ I don’t like to use because I’m superstitious. But I had many years in which I felt cast out from my creative self, cast out from the part of me that imagines and creates; I just could not reach it. I could write nonfiction, that was fine. But that’s not what my heart wanted.”
3. Inspiration for her new novel ‘Dream Count’
Adichie revealed that her mother’s death had inspired her latest novel Dream Count. She stated, “Only when I was almost done did I realize, my God, it’s about my mother.” It wasn’t intentional. I’m happy that it’s not a sad book. She wouldn’t want a sad book dedicated to her.”
4. What her vision as a president will be
Adichie shared her vision of leadership that could foster a utopian society, which prioritizes the well-being of citizens. Furthermore, she supports fair wages, universal healthcare, and a four-day workweek as a means to improve societal welfare.
“If I ever became president of a country – it sounds crazy – I think it’s possible to work slowly towards a place that is more like a utopia. It’s possible with good leadership. I’m not even like a rabid anti-capitalist, because I’m an Igbo woman. My people are traders. But the kind of capitalism we have now, we don’t need to have. What if we actually employed people, paid them well, thought about their healthcare? Gave people four-day weeks, because we know that human beings thrive better when they’re well rested?”
5. Dream Count and the complexities of womanhood
Dream Count is woven around the complexities of womanhood, including friendship, late motherhood, and societal expectations placed on women. Her primary character is Chiamaka (Chia), a travel writer and dreamer, reflecting on her dead-end relationships. Adichie discusses the importance of openly addressing women’s health issues in her writing, as they significantly impact women’s lives, emotional well-being, and dreams.
“There’s a lot that has to do with having a female body that isn’t much talked about,” she says, “and it’s consequential for women’s lives.” “If one is writing honestly about women’s lives, it seems self-evident that we have to talk about these issues in a very open way, because they affect everything. They affect how well a woman does. They affect your emotional well-being. They get in the way of your dreams. If you’re a woman whose dream is to have a family, for example, fibroids can get in the way.”
6. The death of her parents and what grief has taught her
Chimamanda lost her father, James Adichie in 2020, while her mother, Grace, passed on in 2021, barely five months after her father’s burial. She admits her life was “deeply shaped” by her parents and that their deaths have left her truly changed.
“The person who wrote Purple Hibiscus was young, but still the person who wrote Half of a Yellow Sun. And in some ways also the person who wrote Americanah. But today I am alone. I’m a person who looks at the world differently.”
“My mother and I were very close. But there were many times when I was short with her when I didn’t need to be. There’s a tendency for girls to do that with mothers. I wish we would stop. I want to tell all the girls in the world.
7. Her mood when writing fiction
Adichie describes the euphoric state she enters while writing fiction, saying it’s like a “high”. During this time, she loses track of time and feels joyful, making her a pleasure to be around.
Writing fiction is when she is happiest. “You should talk to my husband: he would say, ‘She becomes a different person.’ It’s like a high. I don’t do drugs, but I imagine that it is that absolute high. I’m struck by how much time passes and I don’t realise. Then when I am done – whatever it is, a character that I’ve finally got – the rest of the day is joyful floating. I’m so much fun to be around. And that is not always the case.”