Cherry (novel)
Cherry is a 2018 novel by American author Nico Walker. It concerns an unnamed narrator's time in college, as a soldier during the War in Iraq, and life as a drug addict and bank robber after returning from the war during the midst of the American opioid epidemic.
The novel is an example of autofiction, as Walker was a military veteran who struggled with drug addiction and robbed banks, but there are several differences between the author's real-life actions and the main character's fictional actions.
A film adaptation, directed by the Russo brothers and starring Tom Holland, was released in 2021.
Synopsis
The unnamed narrator, a young man from Cleveland, drops out of college and enlists in the United States Army as a medic during the Iraq War. Suffering from PTSD, the narrator starts self-medicating with opiates while deployed and continues once back home. His opioid use quickly becomes a devastating addiction that hurts his attempts at furthering his education and his personal relationships. After reigniting his relationship with his ex girlfriend, who enables his opioid abuse, the narrator begins to run out of money and decides to start robbing banks to pay for his and his girlfriend's habit.Development
Writing
Walker had been in a federal prison in Ashland, Kentucky, for bank robbery since 2013, and wrote the book on a typewriter over the course of several years. He was released early from prison in October 2019.Cover
Janet Hansen, a designer at Alfred Knopf, created the book cover, which features a skull originally by Swedish graphic designer Daniel Bjugård. Walker’s literary agent dismissed an earlier version with " like it should be sold in Hot Topic".Reception
The book was published to "near-universal praise" according to Vulture.com. It debuted at number 14 on The New York Times bestseller list.The book and the film adaptation have been criticized for presenting the bank robber sympathetically, while overlooking the innocent victims of the crime, such as the bank employees caught in the crime spree.