The new book centers on individuals seeking fresh starts, trying to break free from substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", making it willfully cynical through its repetitions. Sentences like "He could make a fresh start" and "They decided to make a fresh start" appear throughout the narrative. At the same time, Kraus herself seems to be making her own fresh start, since this presents as a new kind of book – observational, genuinely novelistic. However it reveals itself to be filled with the recurring issues and aesthetics as past novels.
From Unplanned Author to Renowned Book
The writer started out as an visual artist who became a writer almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, converting intimate women's literature from humiliation into rebellion. She continued writing, but the next trio of engaging and challenging novels did not possess the impact and rawness that the letter form imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a maverick maker who had become a extensive real estate holder, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It is logical that she now wants to experiment with fresh narrative sources, looking outwards to other people's stories, at a time when she claims that contemporary political climate turns intimate literature obsolete.
Three Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering three generations – each trapped by their backgrounds. We encounter the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, moving from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Then there is the narrative of the author, in the character of a figure named Catt Greene, confronting the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse Paul. And there is the account of a killing of one directionless individual by another in a community mostly forsaken by liberal ideals only a brief drive from Catt's cottage in the Minnesota countryside.
For this reader fond of polished prose of the kind the author herself typically rejects, I was enchanted by the literary tone of the opening part.
As someone who reads drawn to crafted language of the variety that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the initial part. It exhibits a fresh level of observation that makes room for trivial aspects, like the bucket that the protagonist as a child pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, assisted by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he responds, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like hard candy". She tells Emma's narrative with interest and closeness. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."
Frustration and Disruption
I was fated to feel let down when I hoped this different style could last out the book. Kraus says here that she resents the enjoyment readers like me have taken from I Love Dick; she's devoted to fragmentation, to the unpolished style she has in common with her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works returns in the central part. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while traveling between Minnesota and LA, unable to aid her husband manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as Paul transitions between low-resource employment as an substance abuse counselor in a world driven by the anger and fear that powers an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. She still gives the impression to care a little too much about this. In a moment she says that she's researching the homicide so that before exiting the region, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States that her Twitter detractors would fail to comprehend, would not even see".
The Killing Story
Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the titular day spent by the victim with the murderer and his companions. Kraus has excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what happened when the victim Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day with her companions, loitering getting his car mended and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
Catt gets obsessed by the narrative, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her individual preoccupations here. The most interesting character is Brittney, who comes alive partly through the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the extent that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
