The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with individuals chasing after new beginnings, trying to break free from substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into deliberately jaded through recurring use. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They decided to make a fresh start" recur in the narrative. And yet, she appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, since this presents as a different type of work – observational, truly literary. However it reveals itself to be laden with the recurring issues and styles as her previous works.
From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic
Chris Kraus was originally an creative who became a writer unintentionally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, converting confessional female writing from humiliation into rebellion. She kept producing books, but the three subsequent compelling and abrasive novels missed the power and directness that the correspondence format infused into the voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It makes sense that she presently aims to try out new kinds of material, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a time when she states that current political era renders personal narrative redundant.
Several Eras, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning multiple eras – all unable to escape their pasts. The book includes the tale of characters Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, moving from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the persona of a figure named Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. The third thread involves the story of the murder of one lost young man by another in a locality largely deserted by liberal ideals only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.
As a reader drawn to honed writing of the type Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the opening part.
As someone who reads who appreciates crafted language of the variety that Kraus tends to eschew, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the initial part. It possesses a fresh level of observation that makes room for trivial aspects, like the bucket that the youthful Catt dislodges from ice at the opening of the book, assisted by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she says; "a great plaything", he replies, "the nuanced interpretations of terms circulating in their speech like hard candy". She tells Emma's story with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not precisely her dream."
Frustration and Disruption
I was fated to feel let down when I wished this fresh tone could persist to the end. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, to the unpolished style she has in common with her idol author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books comes back in the central part. Catt is working on refurbishing 36 run-down apartments in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while traveling between Minnesota and LA, unable to aid Paul control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as Paul cycles through poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a environment driven by the hostility and dread that drives Trump's victory. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on social media, her occupation changed from "writer" to "property owner" on a reference site. Kraus still seems to care a little too much about this. On one occasion she says that she's looking into the killing so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States that her Twitter detractors would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".
The Homicide Account
Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the referenced day passed by the victim with the perpetrator and his associates. The author possesses compelling foundational content, and reconstructs step by step what happened when a man named Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He anticipated intimacy but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, mooching around getting his car mended and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has frequently been hospitalised for violent rage.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
The protagonist becomes fixated by the account, and I was intrigued by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking wrestle in this part. Yet I wished her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The compelling persona is Brittney, who gains dimension in part due to the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman 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 curiously unresolved, to the extent that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
