The new book centers on characters chasing after fresh starts, trying to break free from addictions or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Sentences like "He could make a fresh start" and "They decided to make a fresh start" are scattered across the narrative. Meanwhile, the author herself is embarking on her individual reinvention, since this presents as a new kind of book – observational, authentically narrative. However it reveals itself to be filled with the same dilemmas and styles as earlier books.
From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic
The writer started out as an visual artist who entered the literary world almost accidentally 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 assassination. She continued writing, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the impact and rawness that the epistolary style infused into the tone of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her position as a maverick maker who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It is logical that she presently aims to explore different types of content, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a period in which she asserts that Trumpian politics makes confessional writing unnecessary.
Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, spanning several time periods – each trapped by their histories. We encounter the tale of a couple named Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, transitioning from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. There is the story of Kraus herself, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse a man named Paul. And there is the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a town long abandoned by progressive politics only a short distance from Catt's cottage in the Minnesota countryside.
From my perspective as a reader fond of polished prose of the sort the author herself often avoids, I was seduced by the literary tone of the first section.
As a reader drawn to honed writing of the variety that the author tends to eschew, I was seduced by the literary tone of the opening segment. It exhibits a novel degree of detail that makes room for small details, like the container that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, aided by her beloved father. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates Emma's story with curiosity and intimacy. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not entirely her own."
Disappointment and Disjunction
I was destined to be disappointed when I expected this new voice could persist to the end. Kraus says here that she is annoyed by the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the unpolished style she shares with her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her earlier works comes back in the second segment. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while moving between Minnesota and LA, unable to aid Paul control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as her spouse cycles through low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a society driven by the anger and fear that powers Trump's victory. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her occupation changed from "writer" to "landlord" on a reference site. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. At one point she states that she's researching the homicide 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 not even perceive".
The Murder Narrative
Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the eponymous day passed by the deceased with the killer and his friends. Kraus utilizes great source material, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as Brandon came to see Brittney after meeting her on an app where she sold sex pictures. He was hoping for sex but seems affably to have spent the day with her companions, wandering about fixing his automobile and covering the cost of food and substances, before being shot by her romantic interest Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Fascination and Incompletion
Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I was fascinated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her own obsessions here. The most interesting character is Brittney, who comes alive partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
