The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with protagonists seeking fresh starts, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to find hope curdling into violence. Kraus often employs the phrase "new beginning", making it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the narrative. At the same time, the author herself is embarking on her own fresh start, as this seems a novel form of writing – observational, genuinely novelistic. But then it proves to be laden with the recurring issues and styles as past novels.
From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work
Kraus was originally an creative who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming confessional female writing from self-debasement into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the following three engaging and challenging novels missed the power and directness that the correspondence format imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a renegade artist who had become a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It is logical that she currently desires to experiment with new kinds of material, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a moment when she asserts that contemporary political climate renders personal narrative obsolete.
Three Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing several time periods – none able to break free from their histories. We encounter the narrative about Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, moving from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. There is the account of Kraus, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her addict husband Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one directionless individual by another in a locality long abandoned by liberal ideals only a brief drive from Catt's cottage in the Minnesota countryside.
From my perspective as a reader fond of honed writing of the sort Kraus herself often avoids, I was enchanted by the narrative style of the opening part.
As someone who reads who appreciates precise prose of the style that Kraus usually avoids, I was captivated by the literary tone of the initial part. It exhibits a novel degree of detail that makes room for trivial aspects, like the container that the young Catt frees from the ice at the beginning of the narrative, aided by her cherished parent. "I found an ice toy!" she says; "a great plaything", he responds, "the ambiguous meanings of language circulating in their speech like sweet treats". The author narrates the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."
Frustration and Disruption
I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this new voice could persist to the end. Kraus notes here that she resents the satisfaction readers like me have gotten from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her hero writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books returns in the middle section. Catt is attempting to do up 36 run-down apartments in the city's most challenging districts while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unsuccessful in assisting her husband control his drinking. She is overwhelmed as her spouse moves between underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a environment fueled by the anger and fear that drives Trump's victory. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on social media, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "landlord" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to invest excessive emotion about this. In a moment she says that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her online critics would be unable to grasp, would not even perceive".
The Homicide Account
Then we reach to the murder itself – and the titular day spent by the victim with the murderer and his companions. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and reconstructs step by step what happened when the victim Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He sought a sexual encounter but seems affably to have spent 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 youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
The protagonist becomes fixated by the account, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is the character Brittney, who gains dimension partly through the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual derailing in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus notes that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the extent that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
