Novelist Nico Walker on Robbing Banks, Reading Dostoevsky, and Getting Brainwashed by the Army
After a stint in the army and a spell as a heroin addict, Nico Walker became a bank robber — a move that landed him in prison for almost a decade. That’s when he wrote Cherry, his first novel and now a motion picture starring Tom Holland. Jacobin spoke with Walker about the Iraq War, socialism in Bolivia, and why robbing a bank is easier than it looks.
(Courtesy of author)
Nico Walker was in prison for bank robbery when Cherry, his first novel, became a best seller. The book is a fictionalized account of his adult life before incarceration. The short version is that he served in the Iraq War as a medic, returned to Ohio and developed an opioid addiction, and began robbing banks. (For the long version, read Cherry.) He was arrested in 2011.
Walker wrote Cherry while already incarcerated; the money from his publishing contract went to pay some of the restitution he owed the banks. He was released from state custody last year, just as the pandemic hit the United States, and Cherry is now a movie adapted by the Russo brothers and starring Tom Holland, of Spider-Man fame.
On the occasion of the movie’s release, Jacobin’s Alex N. Press spoke with Walker about serving in the US military, passing time in prison, and what he plans to do now. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Sorry, but this article is available to active subscribers only. Please log in or become a subscriber.