The Four Spent the Day Together features protagonists pursuing fresh starts, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to witness hope devolve into violence. The author frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", rendering it deliberately jaded through recurring use. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They decided to make a fresh start" are scattered across the narrative. And yet, the author herself appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, as this presents as a new kind of book – fact-based, truly literary. Yet it reveals itself to be packed with the recurring issues and styles as past novels.
From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic
Kraus began as an artist who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, transforming intimate women's literature from self-debasement into assassination. She kept producing books, but the next trio of compelling and abrasive novels lacked the power and directness that the letter form imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her role as a renegade artist who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was much discussion on housing investments. It makes sense that she presently aims to experiment with fresh narrative sources, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a time when she claims that contemporary political climate turns intimate literature obsolete.
Three Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning three generations – all unable to escape their histories. The book includes the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, based on Kraus's parents, relocating from the Bronx to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the narrative of the author, in the guise of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband a man named Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one lost young man by another in a town largely deserted by liberal ideals only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in a remote part of Minnesota.
From my perspective as a reader fond of honed writing of the type the author herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.
Being a reader drawn to honed writing of the style that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was won over by the literary tone of the initial part. It exhibits a fresh level of observation that makes room for minutiae, like the bucket that the young Catt dislodges from ice at the start of the story, assisted by her cherished parent. "Look, an ice toy!" she says; "a lovely toy", he answers, "the ambiguous meanings of language tumbling in their mouths like sweet treats". She tells Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."
Disappointment and Disjunction
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 audiences such as myself have derived from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disjunction, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works comes back in the second segment. Catt Greene is trying to renovate 36 run-down apartments in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between two different states, unable to aid Paul manage his alcohol use. She is overwhelmed as Paul transitions between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a environment driven by the rage and anxiety that powers a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to invest excessive emotion about this. In a moment she says that she's looking into the killing so that before leaving Minnesota, "she may grasp something about an America that her Twitter detractors would fail to comprehend, would not even perceive".
The Homicide Account
Then we reach to the homicide in question – and the eponymous day experienced by the deceased with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what transpired when Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day with her companions, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's partner Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and audacious rule-breaking wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her personal fixations here. The compelling persona is the character Brittney, who gains dimension partly through the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. The author informs us that Catt speaks to Brittney in jail, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par
