The new book centers on protagonists chasing after fresh starts, trying to break free from substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to find hope curdling into violence. Kraus often employs the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the narrative. Meanwhile, Kraus herself is embarking on her individual reinvention, because this presents as a novel form of writing – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. But then it turns out to be laden with the recurring issues and approaches as her previous works.
From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work
Kraus began as an visual artist who entered the literary world almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming intimate women's literature from humiliation into assassination. She persisted as a writer, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the power and directness that the correspondence format infused into the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her position as a renegade artist who had turned into a extensive real estate holder, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It is logical that she presently aims to experiment with new kinds of material, looking outwards 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 divided into three sections, covering multiple eras – none able to break free from their histories. The book includes the tale of Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, transitioning from the Bronx to rural Connecticut. There is the story of Kraus herself, in the character of Catt Greene, reckoning with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband a man named Paul. The third thread involves the narrative of a homicide of one directionless individual by another in a town largely deserted by liberal ideals only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in the Minnesota countryside.
For this reader drawn to refined literature of the sort Kraus tends to eschew, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the first section.
As someone who reads who favors crafted language of the style that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. There is a novel degree of detail that allows space for minutiae, like the container that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the start of the story, assisted by her adored dad. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he responds, "the ambiguous meanings of language circulating in their speech like hard candy". She tells Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."
Disappointment and Disjunction
I was destined to be disappointed when I expected this different style could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she dislikes the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the unpolished style she echoes from her hero writer Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her past books returns in the second segment. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between two different states, unsuccessful in assisting her husband manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as her spouse transitions between underfunded jobs as an addiction therapist in a environment propelled by the rage and anxiety that underpins an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her professional designation altered from "writer" to "property owner" on a reference site. Kraus still seems to care a little too much about this. On one occasion she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States that her Twitter detractors would not understand, would not even see".
The Murder Narrative
So then we come to the actual killing – and the titular day spent by the deceased with the killer and his companions. Kraus has great source material, and reconstructs step by step what transpired when the victim Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He sought a sexual encounter but seems affably to have spent the day alongside her friends, mooching around having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being murdered by Brittney's partner Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has often been institutionalized for violent rage.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The standout figure is Brittney, who gains dimension in part due to Catt seeing herself in her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus notes that Catt speaks to Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels curiously unresolved, to the extent that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
