The new book centers on individuals pursuing new beginnings, attempting to leave behind addictions or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. The author often employs the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the story. Meanwhile, she is embarking on her personal new beginning, since this presents as a different type of work – fact-based, authentically narrative. But then it reveals itself to be filled with the recurring issues and styles as earlier books.
From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic
Chris Kraus was originally an creative who became a writer unintentionally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, structured as epistles to an unresponsive love interest, elevating personal female narrative from self-debasement into defiance. She persisted as a writer, but the following three compelling and abrasive novels missed the power and directness that the letter form infused into the voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was much discussion on property transactions. It makes sense that she currently desires to experiment with fresh narrative sources, turning outward to other people's stories, at a time when she claims that current political era makes confessional writing unnecessary.
Multiple Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, spanning several time periods – each trapped by their pasts. The book includes the narrative about Emma and Jasper, representations of the author's parents, transitioning from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the character of a figure named Catt Greene, reckoning with the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her substance-dependent spouse Paul. The third thread involves the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a locality largely deserted by progressive politics only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.
As a reader drawn to refined literature of the sort Kraus typically rejects, I was captivated by the literary tone of the first section.
As a reader who appreciates honed writing of the style that the author tends to eschew, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the first section. There is a fresh level of observation that allows space for minutiae, like the pail that the young Catt frees from the ice at the beginning of the narrative, aided by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she says; "a great plaything", he responds, "the ambiguous meanings of language 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."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was fated to feel let down when I expected this new voice could continue through the novel. Kraus notes here that she resents the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's devoted to fragmentation, to the unpolished style she echoes from her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works comes back in the middle section. Catt Greene is attempting to do up 36 run-down apartments in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She is overwhelmed as Paul cycles through underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a world driven by the hostility and dread that powers a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her listed profession modified from "novelist" to "property owner" on a reference site. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she says that she's looking into the killing so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her Twitter detractors would not understand, would not even perceive".
The Murder Narrative
Then we reach to the actual killing – and the titular day spent by the deceased with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus has excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what transpired when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but seems affably to have spent the day with her companions, loitering getting his car mended and funding treats and narcotics, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt develops an obsession by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. But I'd have liked her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid partly through Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a struggling, neglected community. The author informs us that Catt speaks to Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
