The new book centers on individuals chasing after new beginnings, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "fresh start", transforming it into deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They decided to make a fresh start" recur in the text. And yet, Kraus herself is embarking on her own fresh start, as this appears a novel form of writing – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. But then it turns out to be laden with the familiar conflicts and styles as earlier books.
From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic
Kraus began as an creative who became a writer unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, transforming intimate women's literature from humiliation into rebellion. She continued writing, but the following three engaging and challenging novels missed the power and directness that the epistolary style imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her position as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It follows that she now wants to try out new kinds of material, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a time when she claims that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative unnecessary.
Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing several time periods – none able to break free from their backgrounds. There is the tale of characters Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, moving from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. There is the story of Kraus herself, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one lost young man by another in a locality mostly forsaken by progressive politics only a short distance from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.
For this reader drawn to honed writing of the kind Kraus herself often avoids, I was seduced by the narrative style of the first section.
As a reader drawn to honed writing of the variety that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the literary tone of the opening segment. It exhibits a novel degree of detail that allows space for trivial aspects, like the pail that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, aided by her cherished parent. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he answers, "the ambiguous meanings of language tumbling in their mouths like piece candy". Kraus writes Emma's story with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."
Disappointment and Disjunction
I was bound to become frustrated when I expected this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment audiences such as myself have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to fragmentation, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her hero Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her past books reasserts itself in the second segment. The protagonist is attempting to do up 36 run-down apartments in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between two different states, failing to help her husband manage his alcohol use. She is overwhelmed as Paul moves between underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a environment driven by the anger and fear that drives a political win. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her listed profession modified from "novelist" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to invest excessive emotion about this. On one occasion she states that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States that her online critics would not understand, would not even see".
The Murder Narrative
So then we come to the murder itself – and the titular day spent by the deceased with the perpetrator and his friends. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and knows hour by hour what transpired when a man named Brandon came to visit Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day in the company of her associates, mooching around fixing his automobile and funding treats and narcotics, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has repeatedly received inpatient care for fits of anger.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I was intrigued by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards ethical reporting and reckless transgression clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to delve deeper into her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who comes alive partly through Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus notes that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
