The new book is populated with individuals pursuing clean slates, attempting to leave behind addictions or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into conflict. The author often employs the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into willfully cynical through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They decided to make a fresh start" appear throughout the narrative. At the same time, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, as this seems a new kind of book – documentarian, genuinely novelistic. But then it turns out to be filled with the familiar conflicts and aesthetics as past novels.
From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic
Chris Kraus began as an artist who entered the literary world somewhat by chance with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, elevating intimate women's literature from self-debasement into assassination. She persisted as a writer, but the following three engaging and challenging novels did not possess the power and directness that the epistolary style infused into the voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a maverick maker who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was much discussion on housing investments. It is logical that she presently aims to experiment with new kinds of material, looking outwards to external narratives, at a time when she claims that current political era renders personal narrative redundant.
Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning several time periods – each trapped by their histories. We encounter the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, based on her own mother and father, transitioning from the Bronx to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the story of Kraus herself, in the character of Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one troubled youth by another in a locality mostly forsaken by forward-thinking policies only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in the Minnesota countryside.
As a reader fond of polished prose of the type Kraus herself often avoids, I was captivated by the narrative style of the opening part.
As someone who reads drawn to crafted language of the variety that the author often disregards, I was won over by the literary tone of the initial part. It possesses a novel degree of detail that accommodates trivial aspects, like the pail that the young Catt dislodges from ice at the opening of the book, helped by her beloved father. "Look, an ice toy!" she declares; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like hard candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not entirely her own."
Frustration and Disruption
I was bound to become frustrated when I hoped this new voice could last out the book. The author states here that she is annoyed by the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her hero Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels comes back in the central part. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between Minnesota and LA, unsuccessful in assisting Paul control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as Paul transitions between underfunded jobs as an addiction therapist in a world fueled by the rage and anxiety that powers a political win. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her occupation changed from "writer" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. At one point she states that she's looking into the killing so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would not even perceive".
The Murder Narrative
So then we come to the actual killing – and the eponymous day spent by the victim with the perpetrator and his friends. The author possesses excellent raw material, and knows hour by hour what transpired when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He was hoping for sex but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, wandering about fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's partner Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has frequently been hospitalised for violent rage.
Fascination and Incompletion
Catt gets obsessed by the narrative, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and audacious rule-breaking wrestle in this part. Yet I wished her to explore more thoroughly her own obsessions here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who comes alive in part due to Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus notes that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
