The new book centers on protagonists pursuing fresh starts, trying to break free from drugs or harmful partnerships, only to find hope curdling into violence. The author frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into intentionally weary through recurring use. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They chose to begin anew" are scattered across the narrative. At the same time, Kraus herself seems to be making her own fresh start, since this appears a new kind of book – fact-based, truly literary. However it reveals itself to be packed with the recurring issues and approaches as past novels.
From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic
The writer began as an creative who entered the literary world somewhat by chance with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, transforming confessional female writing from humiliation into assassination. She kept producing books, but the following three compelling and abrasive novels lacked the impact and rawness that the correspondence format infused into the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a renegade artist who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It follows that she presently aims to experiment with new kinds of material, turning outward to other people's stories, at a time when she states that contemporary political climate turns intimate literature obsolete.
Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering several time periods – none able to break free from their pasts. There is the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, representations of the author's parents, moving from the urban environment to a pastoral setting. There is the account of Kraus, in the character of Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. And there is the story of the murder of one lost young man by another in a community largely deserted by progressive politics only 80 miles from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.
As a reader drawn to polished prose of the kind Kraus herself often avoids, I was enchanted by the narrative style of the first section.
As a reader who favors crafted language of the kind that Kraus often disregards, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. There is a new quality of attentiveness that accommodates minutiae, like the pail that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the opening of the book, helped by her beloved father. "Look, an ice toy!" she says; "a lovely toy", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words circulating in their speech like sweet treats". The author narrates Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."
Disappointment and Disjunction
I was fated to feel let down when I wished this new voice could continue through the novel. The author states here that she dislikes the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's devoted to fragmentation, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works returns in the central part. Catt is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She experiences powerlessness as Paul transitions between low-resource employment as an recovery specialist in a environment driven by the anger and fear that underpins Trump's victory. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. She still gives the impression to care a little too much about this. At one point she says that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an America that her Twitter detractors would be unable to grasp, would not even perceive".
The Homicide Account
Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the titular day passed by the deceased with the perpetrator and his companions. The author possesses excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what happened when a man named Brandon came to visit 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, mooching around getting his car mended and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who gains dimension partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in prison, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the extent that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
