The Four Spent the Day Together features individuals seeking fresh starts, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to find hope curdling into violence. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into deliberately jaded through recurring use. Examples include "He could make a fresh start" and "They decided to make a fresh start" recur in the narrative. At the same time, she appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, since this appears a different type of work – documentarian, authentically narrative. But then it turns out to be packed with the familiar conflicts and approaches as her previous works.
From Unplanned Author to Renowned Book
Chris Kraus started out as an creative who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, transforming personal female narrative from abjection into rebellion. She continued writing, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels missed the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her position as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was considerable focus on property transactions. It follows that she now wants to experiment with different types of content, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a time when she asserts that current political era makes confessional writing redundant.
Multiple Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning several time periods – each trapped by their histories. The book includes the narrative about Emma and Jasper, representations of the author's parents, transitioning from the urban environment to a pastoral setting. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the guise of a figure named Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one troubled youth by another in a locality long abandoned by progressive politics only a brief drive from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.
For this reader fond of refined literature of the sort Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening part.
Being a reader who appreciates honed writing of the style that Kraus often disregards, I was won over by the literary tone of the first section. It possesses a novel degree of detail that makes room for trivial aspects, like the pail that the young Catt dislodges from ice at the beginning of the narrative, helped by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she says; "a lovely toy", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms tumbling in their mouths like hard candy". She tells the tale of Emma with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was fated to feel let down when I expected this new voice could last out the book. Kraus says here that she resents the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the unpolished style she has in common with her hero Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her earlier works comes back in the second segment. The protagonist is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in the city's most challenging districts while traveling between Minnesota and LA, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She feels helpless as Paul moves between low-resource employment as an recovery specialist in a society fueled by the anger and fear that powers an electoral success. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her listed profession modified from "author" to "landlord" on Wikipedia. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".
The Homicide Account
So then we come to the actual killing – and the eponymous day experienced by the victim with the murderer and his associates. The author possesses great source material, and knows hour by hour what happened when the victim Brandon came to visit Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He was hoping for sex but appears congenially to have passed the day in the company of her associates, loitering fixing his automobile and covering the cost of food and substances, before being murdered by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
Catt develops an obsession by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and reckless transgression clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is the character Brittney, who becomes vivid partly through the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman spiraling out of control in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus notes that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the degree that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
