The Four Spent the Day Together centers on characters pursuing new beginnings, attempting to leave behind drugs or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into violence. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "clean slate", rendering it willfully cynical through recurring use. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the text. And yet, the author herself seems to be making her personal new beginning, because this presents as a new kind of book – observational, genuinely novelistic. But then it turns out to be filled with the recurring issues and approaches as earlier books.
From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book
Chris Kraus was originally an creative who became a writer unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, structured as letters to an unreceptive lover, elevating intimate women's literature from abjection into assassination. She continued writing, but the following three engaging and challenging novels did not possess the impact and rawness that the letter form imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a renegade artist who had become a extensive real estate holder, so there was much discussion on housing investments. It is logical that she now wants to experiment with fresh narrative sources, turning outward to external narratives, at a period in which she asserts that Trumpian politics turns intimate literature obsolete.
Three Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering several time periods – all unable to escape their histories. We encounter the narrative about a couple named Emma and Jasper, based on her own mother and father, moving from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. There is the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her addict husband her husband Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a town largely deserted by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.
As a reader attracted to honed writing of the kind Kraus herself typically rejects, I was captivated by the literary tone of the first section.
As a reader drawn to crafted language of the variety that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. It possesses a fresh level of observation that allows space for trivial aspects, like the bucket that the youthful Catt pries out of frozen water at the beginning of the narrative, helped by her beloved father. "Look, an ice toy!" she declares; "a great plaything", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates the tale of Emma with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not precisely her dream."
Disappointment and Disjunction
I was bound to become frustrated when I expected this new voice could last out the book. The author states here that she dislikes the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the unpolished style she has in common with her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works comes back in the central part. Catt is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between two different states, unable to aid Paul curb his addiction. She is overwhelmed as Paul cycles through underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a world propelled by the hostility and dread that powers Trump's victory. There are several pages about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her listed profession modified from "novelist" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to invest excessive emotion about this. On one occasion she says that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she could potentially understand something about an the nation that her online critics would not understand, would not even perceive".
The Murder Narrative
Then we reach to the murder itself – and the eponymous day spent by the victim with the perpetrator and his associates. Kraus utilizes compelling foundational content, and reconstructs step by step what transpired when the victim Brandon came to visit Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day alongside her friends, wandering about getting his car mended and funding treats and narcotics, before being murdered by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
The protagonist becomes fixated by the narrative, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The compelling persona is the character Brittney, who comes alive partially because of Catt's identification with her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual derailing in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus notes that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
