2003, Cleveland. He has just arrived at uni when he meets Emily and falls for her immediately. They love each other passionately, just as they love Ecstasy. When Emily moves back home to Elba and splits up, he loses control and is expelled from college soon after. The army promises an interesting future – or better: a future at all. As a medic he is briefly trained before they send him to Iraq. A year in the Middle East, a year in the war. What he sees is unimaginable and to avoid the pictures in his head and to deal with the everyday loss of comrades, he needs more and more pills. When he returns, he cannot find a way back in life. With Emily, he’s got an on-and-off relationship which is mainly marked by their common use of heroin. A normal life seems possible, but the constant need of money for more drugs and the fact of passing out frequently hinders them from actually having it. “Cherry” is the story of an average young man whose life spirals down into the abyss. It’s not the one big event that throws him off course, it’s a bit here and there, a relationship that breaks up, not getting enough credits at college, simply losing the aim in life. Of course, the experiences made in the war are a major event and it is hard to imagine that anybody can live through this without serious psychological disturbances or PTSD. The novel brings out the worst that drugs can do to somebody and it underlines how long this can go on without people around noticing anything, how long they can keep up appearances before wreaking havoc. Yet, it is not only the topic, the narrator’s life that is shown bluntly by Nico Walker. What he does masterly, too, is to adapt the language to the situation: The car bomb did what car bombs do and four were dead in the market. It would have been more but the sheep took most of the blast. So you had flesh and blood and wool on the pavement. You had bloodstains on the pavement, little lakes of blood. There is no reason to embellish anything, it’s just the blunt reality that Walker describes in the most brutal and direct way. Most of the soldiers were “Cherries” which gives the novel its title: soldiers who have never been in a fight and whose behaviour is unpredictable and therefore a danger to the whole platoon. They were ill prepared in every possible way, but the worst is that they were ill prepared to return to a life in the civilian society. Walker doesn’t beat about the bush, his novel accuses their treatment, as well as the way drug addicts are taken care of, or rather: not taken care of. He shows a reality that nobody wants to see but which exists among us. The style of writing might not be for everybody, but it is perfect for this novel.

I loved this book. The desolate way it documents the real impact of drug addiction, war and growing up is profound. Yet there is deadpan humour in almost every chapter which makes it very readable.

This is a raw and visceral account of a young man from his schooldays through his distressing experiences of drug abuse and war. Written in the first person as he thinks and speaks, the unnamed protagonist tells his tale with acceptance and dark humour. Despite the horrors and atrocities he witnesses and instigates, he has a level of sensitivity that often sits as a paradox. He sees the brutality and futility of war, the practicalities of dealing with corpses that have been the victims of gunshot or bombs, for example, and yet he still feels sympathy for the feral dogs as they are shot out of boredom. Awkward, vegetarian and loyal to his wife. In spite of his crassness he is rather likeable. 'Cherry' is the word given to the new recruits in the army and it means new and therefore inexperienced. The 'cherry' theme is carried through as young people find ways to deal with their grown-up lives - war, relationships and debt. For a while drugs are the answer: 'There was nothing better than to be young and on heroin.' The part dealing with buying and taking drugs does drag a bit though. The pace generally is good with a mix of chapter length and snappy sentences. The vocabulary is appropriate for a young man of his time, although I struggled with some parts not being an American from the early 2000s, but I got the gist. Always engaging and colourful. This is a powerful, disturbing and original work that penetrated my dreams at night. Not a desirable effect but a compliment to the book nonetheless. Tragic, realistic and yet shot through with optimism. #Cherry #Netgalley

This is an amazing novel. The writing style reminded me of J D Salinger (which is one of the highest compliments I can give!), but updated for millennials, with added sex and brutality. It's marketed as fiction, but given that the author is currently serving time in prison for bank robbery, after serving multiple tours in Iraq, this must be at least semi-autobiographical, and the whole story reads as completely true. Not for anyone with a weak stomach, this recounts the protagonist's journey from college drop-out, to soldier, to drug-addict and the whole thing is visceral but wonderful, and the love story running throughout is sad but mesmerising. Highly recommended!

I found this quite a superficial read. Although harrowingly sad at times, it lacked any depth in the story. I usually really enjoy anything that is true but I was disappointed with this.