The Four Spent the Day Together features characters seeking new beginnings, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", making it willfully cynical through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They chose to begin anew" are scattered across the text. At the same time, Kraus herself seems to be making her own fresh start, since this presents as a new kind of book – documentarian, genuinely novelistic. However it proves to be laden with the recurring issues and styles as earlier books.
From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book
The writer began as an creative who entered the literary world almost accidentally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, elevating personal female narrative from self-debasement into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the following three engaging and challenging novels lacked the shock and immediacy that the epistolary style imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her position as a maverick maker who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was much discussion on housing investments. It makes sense that she presently aims to explore new kinds of material, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a moment when she states that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative unnecessary.
Multiple Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, covering several time periods – each trapped by their backgrounds. The book includes the story of Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, relocating from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the guise of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction her husband Paul. And there is the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a locality largely deserted by progressive politics only a brief drive from Catt's cottage in the Minnesota countryside.
As a reader drawn to honed writing of the kind Kraus herself typically rejects, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the opening part.
Being a reader who appreciates precise prose of the style that Kraus often disregards, I was won over by the literary tone of the opening segment. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that accommodates trivial aspects, like the pail that the protagonist as a child pries out of frozen water at the beginning of the narrative, assisted by her cherished parent. "I found an ice toy!" she declares; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like piece candy". She tells Emma's story with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not hers, exactly."
Frustration and Disruption
I was bound to become frustrated when I expected this new voice could continue through the novel. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her previous novels reasserts itself in the middle section. Catt is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between two different states, unsuccessful in assisting her husband manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as Paul cycles through low-resource employment as an substance abuse counselor in a environment propelled by the rage and anxiety that powers an electoral success. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on Twitter, her listed profession modified from "novelist" to "landlord" on a reference site. Kraus still seems to care a little too much about this. In a moment she says that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an the nation that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would not even see".
The Murder Narrative
So then we come to the murder itself – and the referenced day passed by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his associates. The author possesses excellent raw material, and knows hour by hour what occurred as a man named Brandon came to visit Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she marketed explicit images. He was hoping for sex but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, mooching around having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her own obsessions here. The compelling persona is Brittney herself, who comes alive partly through the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus notes that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
