The new book is populated with protagonists pursuing new beginnings, trying to break free from drugs or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "fresh start", transforming it into intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the text. And yet, she is embarking on her personal new beginning, since this appears a new kind of book – observational, truly literary. Yet it reveals itself to be filled with the recurring issues and aesthetics as earlier books.
From Accidental Writer to Renowned Book
Chris Kraus was originally an artist who entered the literary world almost accidentally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming confessional female writing from humiliation into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the following three fascinating and rebarbative novels did not possess the power and directness that the correspondence format brought to the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It follows that she now wants to experiment with different types of content, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a moment when she claims that contemporary political climate renders personal narrative obsolete.
Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering multiple eras – none able to break free from their pasts. The book includes the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, representations of the author's parents, relocating from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Additionally the narrative of the author, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse a man named Paul. The third thread involves the narrative of a homicide of one troubled youth by another in a town long abandoned by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in a remote part of Minnesota.
For this reader attracted to polished prose of the sort Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the narrative style of the first section.
As a reader who favors honed writing of the variety that Kraus usually avoids, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the initial part. There is a fresh level of observation that accommodates small details, like the bucket that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the start of the story, aided by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". She tells the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not hers, exactly."
Frustration and Disruption
I was fated to feel let down when I hoped this new voice could persist to the end. The author states here that she is annoyed by the pleasure readers like me have derived from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disjunction, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her past books comes back in the central part. Catt Greene is attempting to do up three dozen dilapidated units in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while traveling between two different states, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She is overwhelmed as Paul transitions between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a world propelled by the hostility and dread that drives Trump's victory. There are several pages about Catt's social media ostracism on social media, her professional designation altered from "novelist" to "real estate holder" on a reference site. She still gives the impression to care a little too much about this. At one point she states that she's looking into the killing so that before exiting the region, "she might be able to learn something about an the nation that her social media opponents would not understand, would overlook entirely".
The Homicide Account
So then we come to the homicide in question – and the titular day experienced by the victim with the killer and his associates. Kraus has excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what occurred as Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He anticipated intimacy but seems affably to have spent 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 boyfriend a man named Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has often been institutionalized for aggressive outbursts.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
The protagonist becomes fixated by the account, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who gains dimension partially because of Catt seeing herself in her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The whole section feels curiously unresolved, to the point that her narrative ends almost mid-par
