This latest work is populated with protagonists chasing after new beginnings, attempting to leave behind drugs or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into aggression. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", rendering it intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Sentences like "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the story. Meanwhile, she is embarking on her own fresh start, because this appears a new kind of book – observational, genuinely novelistic. But then it proves to be packed with the recurring issues and styles as past novels.
From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic
The writer started out as an artist who became a writer almost accidentally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, structured as letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming intimate women's literature from self-debasement into defiance. She continued writing, but the following three fascinating and rebarbative novels missed the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format brought to the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a nonconformist creator who had become a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was significant attention on housing investments. It is logical that she presently aims to explore different types of content, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a moment when she states that Trumpian politics turns intimate literature unnecessary.
Multiple Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering three generations – none able to break free from their pasts. We encounter the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, relocating from the Bronx to the Connecticut countryside. There is the account of Kraus, in the guise of Catt Greene, grappling with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a community long abandoned by forward-thinking policies only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in the Minnesota countryside.
From my perspective as a reader attracted to refined literature of the type Kraus herself typically rejects, I was seduced by the literary tone of the opening part.
Being a reader who favors precise prose of the style that Kraus often disregards, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the first section. It possesses a novel degree of detail that makes room for minutiae, like the bucket that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the start of the story, assisted by her adored dad. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". Kraus writes Emma's narrative with curiosity and intimacy. "It seemed to Emma she had entered 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 says here that she resents the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she echoes from her hero author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her past books returns in the second segment. Catt Greene is attempting to do up 36 run-down apartments in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid Paul manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as Paul cycles through low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a world driven by the hostility and dread that drives a political win. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation on Twitter, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. At one point she says that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her social media opponents would not understand, would not even perceive".
The Homicide Account
So then we come to the murder itself – and the eponymous day passed by the murdered individual with the murderer and his companions. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what happened when Brandon came to see Brittney after meeting her on an app where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but seems affably to have spent the day alongside her friends, loitering getting his car mended and paying for snacks and drugs, before being shot by Brittney's partner Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is the character Brittney, who comes alive partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in jail, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
