The new book features individuals chasing after new beginnings, trying to break free from drugs or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into aggression. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into intentionally weary through recurring use. Examples include "He could make a fresh start" and "They chose to begin anew" appear throughout the text. At the same time, the author herself appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, as this seems a different type of work – documentarian, truly literary. However it proves to be packed with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as earlier books.
From Chance Novelist to Iconic Work
Chris Kraus was originally an visual artist who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming confessional female writing from humiliation into rebellion. She continued writing, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels did not possess the shock and immediacy that the epistolary style infused into the voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It makes sense that she presently aims to experiment with different types of content, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a time when she states that current political era makes confessional writing obsolete.
Multiple Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning three generations – each trapped by their backgrounds. We encounter the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, transitioning from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. Additionally the narrative of the author, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction her husband Paul. And there is the narrative of a homicide of one troubled youth by another in a locality mostly forsaken by progressive politics only 80 miles from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.
For this reader attracted to polished prose of the type Kraus often avoids, I was captivated by the narrative style of the opening part.
As someone who reads drawn to crafted language of the variety that Kraus tends to eschew, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the initial part. There is a new quality of attentiveness that allows space for small details, like the pail that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the beginning of the narrative, helped by her cherished parent. "I found an ice toy!" she declares; "a nice toy", he replies, "the nuanced interpretations of terms tumbling in their mouths like hard candy". Kraus writes Emma's narrative with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was fated to feel let down when I hoped this different style could last out the book. Kraus says here that she resents the enjoyment readers like me have taken from I Love Dick; she's devoted to fragmentation, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her idol Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels comes back in the central part. Catt Greene is trying to renovate multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while moving between two different states, unable to aid Paul manage his alcohol use. She feels helpless as her spouse cycles through low-resource employment as an recovery specialist in a society fueled by the anger and fear that underpins a political win. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on Twitter, her professional designation altered from "novelist" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. The author still appears to care a little too much about this. On one occasion she states that she's looking into the killing so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an the nation that her Twitter detractors would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".
The Homicide Account
So then we come to the actual killing – and the referenced day spent by the deceased with the murderer and his companions. Kraus utilizes great source material, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as the victim Brandon came to visit Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day alongside her friends, loitering having his vehicle repaired and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by her romantic interest Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Fascination and Incompletion
The protagonist becomes fixated by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her own obsessions here. The most interesting character is the character Brittney, who becomes vivid in part due to Catt seeing herself in her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. The author informs us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
