This latest work centers on individuals seeking new beginnings, attempting to leave behind drugs or abusive marriages, only to witness hope devolve into violence. Chris Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into intentionally weary through recurring use. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the narrative. At the same time, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, because this appears a new kind of book – documentarian, genuinely novelistic. Yet it turns out to be laden with the same dilemmas and approaches as past novels.
From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book
Kraus was originally an creative who became a writer unintentionally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming confessional female writing from humiliation into assassination. She continued writing, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels did not possess the shock and immediacy that the letter form imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a maverick maker who had turned into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It follows that she presently aims to experiment with fresh narrative sources, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a period in which she asserts that current political era turns intimate literature obsolete.
Several Eras, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering several time periods – each trapped by their backgrounds. There is the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, transitioning from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. There is the story of Kraus herself, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her addict husband a man named Paul. And there is the account of a killing of one directionless individual by another in a community mostly forsaken by liberal ideals only 80 miles from Catt's cottage in the Minnesota countryside.
As a reader fond of refined literature of the kind Kraus tends to eschew, I was enchanted by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.
As someone who reads who favors precise prose of the variety that the author tends to eschew, I was won over by the literary tone of the opening segment. There is a fresh level of observation that accommodates small details, like the container that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, aided by her cherished parent. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms tumbling in their mouths like hard candy". The author narrates Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was bound to become frustrated when I hoped this new voice could persist to the end. Kraus says here that she resents the enjoyment readers like me have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her idol Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works reasserts itself in the central part. The protagonist is trying to renovate multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unsuccessful in assisting her husband control his drinking. She feels helpless as her spouse cycles through poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a society fueled by the anger and fear that underpins an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on Twitter, her listed profession modified from "author" to "real estate holder" on a reference site. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she remarks that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an America that her online critics would not understand, would overlook entirely".
The Homicide Account
Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the eponymous day spent by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus has excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what happened when Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day with her companions, mooching around fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by Brittney's partner Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has often been institutionalized for fits of anger.
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 ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is the character Brittney, who comes alive in part due to the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a troubled, forgotten town. The author informs us that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The whole section feels strangely incomplete, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
