The new book is populated with protagonists pursuing new beginnings, trying to break free from drugs or harmful partnerships, only to find hope curdling into conflict. Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "clean slate", making it intentionally weary through recurring use. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the narrative. Meanwhile, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, as this presents as a new kind of book – observational, truly literary. However it reveals itself to be filled with the same dilemmas and styles as earlier books.
From Chance Novelist to Iconic Work
The writer started out as an creative who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, elevating confessional female writing from abjection into rebellion. She kept producing books, but the three subsequent compelling and abrasive novels lacked the shock and immediacy that the letter form infused into the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a maverick maker who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on real estate deals. It makes sense that she now wants to explore different types of content, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a period in which she asserts that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative unnecessary.
Multiple Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning three generations – none able to break free from their backgrounds. The book includes the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, moving from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. There is the story of Kraus herself, in the character of Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse her husband Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one troubled youth by another in a community largely deserted by progressive politics only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.
As a reader fond of honed writing of the sort Kraus herself typically rejects, I was seduced by the literary tone of the first section.
As someone who reads who appreciates crafted language of the variety that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the first section. There is a fresh level of observation that allows space for minutiae, like the container that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the opening of the book, assisted by her cherished parent. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she says; "a nice toy", he replies, "the nuanced interpretations of terms circulating in their speech like hard candy". Kraus writes the tale of Emma with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."
Frustration and Disruption
I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this new voice could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she dislikes the enjoyment readers like me have taken from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books returns in the middle section. Catt Greene is trying to renovate three dozen dilapidated units in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between two different states, failing to help Paul control his drinking. She feels helpless as Paul cycles through underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a environment driven by the anger and fear that powers a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about the protagonist facing cancellation on social media, her listed profession modified from "author" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to invest excessive emotion about this. At one point she states that she's looking into the killing so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her online critics would not understand, would not even perceive".
The Homicide Account
Then we reach to the murder itself – and the titular day spent by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his associates. Kraus has great source material, and knows hour by hour what transpired when the victim Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, mooching around getting his car mended and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by her romantic interest Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I found myself captivated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards accurate chronicling and daring boundary-pushing clash in this segment. But I'd have liked her to go further into her personal fixations here. The compelling persona is Brittney, who becomes vivid in part due to Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman spiraling out of control in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the point that her narrative ends almost mid-par
