Discussed in this essay:

Cherry, by Nico Walker. Knopf. 336 pages. $26.95.

They start their day in the half-dark. She’s gone to take a shower. He’s picking through the house, looking for a shirt that doesn’t have blood on it. Used hypodermic rigs litter the cupboards, which must be bare of food. The dog has urinated on the floor. A dope boy named Black is expected by with their fix. Without it, she won’t be able to go to school—she teaches a literature class. But dealers have to be paid. He, we learn, has a bank…