The new book is populated with protagonists chasing after clean slates, struggling to escape addictions or harmful partnerships, only to find hope curdling into conflict. The author frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", rendering it intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the text. At the same time, she seems to be making her own fresh start, since this appears a different type of work – documentarian, genuinely novelistic. Yet it reveals itself to be packed with the familiar conflicts and approaches as earlier books.
From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book
Kraus began as an visual artist who entered the literary world almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, structured as epistles to an unresponsive love interest, elevating intimate women's literature from self-debasement into assassination. She persisted as a writer, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels did not possess the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a maverick maker who had turned into a major property owner, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It follows that she presently aims to explore new kinds of material, looking outwards to other people's stories, at a period in which she states that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative unnecessary.
Several Eras, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering several time periods – none able to break free from their backgrounds. The book includes the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, based on Kraus's parents, relocating from the Bronx to the Connecticut countryside. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the guise of a figure named Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction her husband Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one lost young man by another in a town long abandoned by progressive politics only 80 miles from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.
For this reader attracted to refined literature of the kind Kraus tends to eschew, I was enchanted by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.
As someone who reads who favors honed writing of the style that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the storytelling approach of the initial part. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that allows space for trivial aspects, like the pail that the young Catt frees from the ice at the opening of the book, assisted by her beloved father. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". She tells Emma's narrative with curiosity and intimacy. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not hers, exactly."
Disappointment and Disjunction
I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this new voice could persist to the end. The author states here that she is annoyed by the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her past books comes back in the second segment. Catt is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between two different states, unable to aid Paul curb his addiction. She is overwhelmed as Paul moves between poorly supported positions as an addiction therapist in a world driven by the hostility and dread that underpins Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her professional designation altered from "writer" to "property owner" on Wikipedia. Kraus still seems to invest excessive emotion about this. In a moment she states that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an the nation that her social media opponents would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".
The Homicide Account
Then we reach to the murder itself – and the titular day passed by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his friends. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and details moment by moment what transpired when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He anticipated intimacy but seems affably to have spent the day alongside her friends, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by Brittney's boyfriend a man named Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and daring boundary-pushing clash in this segment. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who comes alive in part due to Catt's identification with her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. The author informs us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The whole section feels strangely incomplete, to the extent that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
