The Four Spent the Day Together centers on protagonists seeking new beginnings, trying to break free from drugs or toxic relationships, only to find hope curdling into aggression. Chris Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "new beginning", making it willfully cynical through its repetitions. Sentences like "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the text. At the same time, the author herself appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, since this seems a novel form of writing – fact-based, authentically narrative. However it reveals itself to be packed with the recurring issues and approaches as earlier books.
From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic
Kraus started out as an visual artist who became a writer somewhat by chance with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, structured as missives to a distant beloved, converting confessional female writing from abjection into assassination. She continued writing, but the following three compelling and abrasive novels missed the power and directness that the correspondence format imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her role as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a extensive real estate holder, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It is logical that she presently aims to explore different types of content, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a time when she asserts that Trumpian politics makes confessional writing obsolete.
Three Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, spanning multiple eras – each trapped by their backgrounds. The book includes the narrative about Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, relocating from the New York borough to rural Connecticut. Additionally the story of Kraus herself, in the guise of Catt Greene, confronting the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a community long abandoned by liberal ideals only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.
As a reader fond of honed writing of the sort Kraus herself typically rejects, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.
As someone who reads who favors crafted language of the variety that Kraus herself often disregards, I was captivated by the literary tone of the first section. There is a novel degree of detail that allows space for trivial aspects, like the bucket that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, assisted by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she declares; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the nuanced interpretations of terms tumbling in their mouths like hard candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not precisely her dream."
Frustration and Disruption
I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this new voice could persist to the end. Kraus says here that she resents the enjoyment audiences such as myself have derived from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she has in common with her hero writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels comes back in the middle section. The protagonist is working on refurbishing 36 run-down apartments in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid her husband curb his addiction. She is overwhelmed as Paul transitions between poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a world propelled by the rage and anxiety that powers an electoral success. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her occupation changed from "writer" to "landlord" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to care a little too much about this. At one point she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her Twitter detractors would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".
The Murder Narrative
Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the eponymous day spent by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his associates. The author possesses excellent raw material, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after meeting her on an app where she marketed explicit images. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day with her companions, loitering having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being shot by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
Catt develops an obsession by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her own obsessions here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid in part due to Catt's identification with her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par
