The Four Spent the Day Together features protagonists seeking fresh starts, struggling to escape drugs or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into conflict. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", rendering it intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They chose to begin anew" appear throughout the text. And yet, she is embarking on her individual reinvention, since this presents as a different type of work – documentarian, genuinely novelistic. But then it turns out to be packed with the recurring issues and aesthetics as her previous works.
From Accidental Writer to Renowned Book
Chris Kraus began as an artist who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming personal female narrative from self-debasement into rebellion. She kept producing books, but the three subsequent compelling and abrasive novels lacked the shock and immediacy that the epistolary style imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a maverick maker who had turned into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on real estate deals. It is logical that she now wants to experiment with different types of content, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a period in which she claims that Trumpian politics makes confessional writing unnecessary.
Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, encompassing three generations – none able to break free from their histories. There is the narrative about Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, moving from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the persona of Catt Greene, confronting the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one lost young man by another in a locality long abandoned by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.
From my perspective as a reader attracted to honed writing of the type the author herself often avoids, I was captivated by the narrative style of the opening part.
Being a reader who favors precise prose of the style that the author usually avoids, I was seduced by the literary tone of the first section. There is a novel degree of detail that allows space for small details, like the pail that the protagonist as a child dislodges from ice at the start of the story, assisted by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she says; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates Emma's narrative with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not precisely her dream."
Frustration and Disruption
I was fated to feel let down when I expected this new voice could last out the book. Kraus says here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her previous novels comes back in the central part. Catt is trying to renovate 36 run-down apartments in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between Minnesota and LA, unable to aid Paul manage his alcohol use. She feels helpless as her spouse transitions between low-resource employment as an recovery specialist in a environment propelled by the rage and anxiety that underpins an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "landlord" on Wikipedia. The author still appears to care a little too much about this. In a moment she states that she's researching the homicide so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States that her social media opponents would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".
The Murder Narrative
Then we reach to the murder itself – and the eponymous day experienced by the murdered individual with the killer and his friends. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what transpired when Brandon came to meet Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He anticipated intimacy but appears congenially to have passed the day with her companions, loitering getting his car mended and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
The protagonist becomes fixated by the narrative, and I was intrigued by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards responsible documentation and daring boundary-pushing wrestle in this part. But I'd have liked her to explore more thoroughly her own obsessions here. The standout figure is Brittney, who gains dimension partly through the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus notes that Catt converses with Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the extent that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
