The new book is populated with individuals seeking new beginnings, trying to break free from drugs or abusive marriages, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. The author often employs the phrase "clean slate", rendering it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Sentences like "He aimed to start over" and "They decided to make a fresh start" recur in the story. And yet, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, since this seems a different type of work – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. Yet it proves to be packed with the same dilemmas and styles as earlier books.
From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic
Chris Kraus began as an visual artist who became a writer somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, elevating personal female narrative from self-debasement into defiance. She kept producing books, but the next trio of compelling and abrasive novels did not possess the shock and immediacy that the letter form brought to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her position as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a extensive real estate holder, so there was significant attention on housing investments. 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 claims that current political era makes confessional writing unnecessary.
Several Eras, Collective Unavoidable Background
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering three generations – each trapped by their histories. There is the tale of Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, transitioning from the Bronx to the Connecticut countryside. Then there is the account of Kraus, in the character of a figure named Catt Greene, reckoning with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse her husband Paul. The third thread involves the narrative of a homicide of one directionless individual by another in a community largely deserted by liberal ideals only a short distance from Catt's rural residence in rural Minnesota.
As a reader fond of refined literature of the type Kraus typically rejects, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the first section.
As someone who reads who favors precise prose of the style that Kraus tends to eschew, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the initial part. It possesses a fresh level of observation that accommodates small details, like the bucket that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the start of the story, helped by her beloved father. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates Emma's story with interest and closeness. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."
Frustration and Disruption
I was destined to be disappointed when I hoped this different style could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she dislikes the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her idol author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books comes back in the middle section. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between two different states, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She experiences powerlessness as her spouse transitions between poorly supported positions as an recovery specialist in a society propelled by the rage and anxiety that drives Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on Twitter, her professional designation altered from "author" to "landlord" on Wikipedia. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she states that she's looking into the killing so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her social media opponents would be unable to grasp, would overlook entirely".
The Murder Narrative
Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the eponymous day passed by the deceased with the perpetrator and his friends. The author possesses great source material, and knows hour by hour what occurred as Brandon came to meet Brittney after meeting her on an app where she marketed explicit images. He was hoping for sex but seems amiably to have occupied the day alongside her friends, mooching around fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's boyfriend a man named Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has frequently been hospitalised for fits of anger.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
The protagonist becomes fixated by the narrative, and I was intrigued by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her personal fixations here. The compelling persona is Brittney herself, who comes alive in part due to Catt seeing herself in her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The whole section feels curiously unresolved, to the point that her narrative ends almost mid-par