The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with individuals seeking clean slates, trying to break free from substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. The author frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", rendering it intentionally weary through recurring use. Sentences like "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They decided to make a fresh start" are scattered across the narrative. At the same time, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, as this presents as a different type of work – documentarian, genuinely novelistic. But then it turns out to be packed with the recurring issues and styles as her previous works.
From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work
Kraus was originally an artist who entered the literary world somewhat by chance with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, made up of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming personal female narrative from abjection into assassination. She persisted as a writer, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels missed the impact and rawness that the letter form brought to the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a extensive real estate holder, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It makes sense that she presently aims to experiment with different types of content, directing her gaze to other people's stories, at a time when she claims that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing redundant.
Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering several time periods – each trapped by their histories. There is the tale of Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, relocating from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Additionally the narrative of the author, in the guise of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband her husband Paul. And there is the narrative of a homicide of one directionless individual by another in a locality largely deserted by progressive politics only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in the Minnesota countryside.
As a reader attracted to polished prose of the kind the author herself often avoids, I was captivated by the literary tone of the first section.
As a reader who appreciates honed writing of the variety that the author often disregards, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. There is a novel degree of detail that allows space for small details, like the bucket that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the beginning of the narrative, aided by her cherished parent. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he replies, "the nuanced interpretations of terms circulating in their speech like sweet treats". She tells Emma's story with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not hers, exactly."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was fated to feel let down when I hoped this fresh tone could persist to the end. Kraus notes here that she resents the enjoyment audiences such as myself have gotten from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books returns in the middle section. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between the Midwest and the West Coast, unsuccessful in assisting Paul curb his addiction. She is overwhelmed as her spouse cycles through low-resource employment as an recovery specialist in a society driven by the hostility and dread that powers an electoral success. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to care a little too much about this. On one occasion she says that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she could potentially understand something about an the nation that her social media opponents would be unable to grasp, would overlook entirely".
The Killing Story
Thus we arrive to the homicide in question – and the eponymous day spent by the murdered individual with the murderer and his associates. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what happened when Brandon came to meet Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she sold sex pictures. He was hoping for sex but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and paying for snacks and drugs, before being shot by Brittney's partner Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Fascination and Incompletion
Catt gets obsessed by the narrative, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and daring boundary-pushing clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is Brittney, who comes alive partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman spiraling out of control in a difficult, overlooked locality. The author informs us that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
