The Four Spent the Day Together centers on characters chasing after fresh starts, struggling to escape drugs or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", transforming it into intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Examples include "He aimed to start over" and "They decided to make a fresh start" are scattered across the narrative. Meanwhile, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, as this appears a novel form of writing – documentarian, authentically narrative. However it reveals itself to be laden with the familiar conflicts and styles as earlier books.
From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book
The writer was originally an creative who entered the literary world almost accidentally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, elevating personal female narrative from self-debasement into assassination. She continued writing, but the next trio of compelling and abrasive novels missed the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format brought to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It makes sense that she now wants to try out new kinds of material, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a moment when she states that contemporary political climate renders personal narrative redundant.
Three Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering three generations – none able to break free from their backgrounds. We encounter the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, representations of her own mother and father, moving from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. Then there is the narrative of the author, in the guise of Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. And there is the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a locality long abandoned by progressive politics only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in a remote part of Minnesota.
As a reader fond of refined literature of the sort the author herself typically rejects, I was enchanted by the novelistic voice of the first section.
As someone who reads drawn to honed writing of the kind that Kraus tends to eschew, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. It exhibits a fresh level of observation that allows space for small details, like the pail that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the beginning of the narrative, assisted by her adored dad. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she declares; "a great plaything", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like hard candy". Kraus writes Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."
Frustration and Disruption
I was destined to be disappointed when I expected this new voice could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she dislikes the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disjunction, to the messy artistic approach she shares with her hero author Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her earlier works comes back in the central part. Catt Greene is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while traveling between two different states, unable to aid Paul curb his addiction. She is overwhelmed as Paul cycles through underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a world fueled by the rage and anxiety that drives Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her professional designation altered from "writer" to "real estate holder" on a reference site. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. At one point she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she may grasp something about an America that her online critics would not understand, would not even perceive".
The Homicide Account
Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the eponymous day experienced by the victim with the murderer and his companions. Kraus utilizes great source material, and details moment by moment what transpired when Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He anticipated intimacy but appears congenially to have passed the day in the company of her associates, mooching around getting his car mended and paying for snacks and drugs, before being shot by Brittney's partner Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has frequently been hospitalised for fits of anger.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. Yet I wished her to go further into her own obsessions here. The compelling persona is Brittney herself, who gains dimension partly through the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual derailing in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus notes that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in jail, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
