The new book centers on characters seeking clean slates, trying to break free from addictions or abusive marriages, only to witness hope devolve into violence. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", rendering it deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the text. Meanwhile, she is embarking on her own fresh start, because this appears a new kind of book – documentarian, authentically narrative. But then it reveals itself to be packed with the recurring issues and approaches as earlier books.
From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic
Kraus was originally an creative who became a writer almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, which was composed of letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming personal female narrative from abjection into defiance. She continued writing, but the following three compelling and abrasive novels missed the impact and rawness that the correspondence format infused into the tone of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had become a extensive real estate holder, so there was significant attention on real estate deals. It is logical that she currently desires to experiment with new kinds of material, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a period in which she states that current political era makes confessional writing unnecessary.
Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, encompassing several time periods – none able to break free from their pasts. There is the tale of Emma and Jasper, representations of her own mother and father, relocating from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. Additionally the narrative of the author, in the character of a figure named Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her addict husband Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a town mostly forsaken by forward-thinking policies only a short distance from Catt's rural residence in a remote part of Minnesota.
From my perspective as a reader drawn to refined literature of the sort the author herself often avoids, I was enchanted by the narrative style of the initial segment.
Being a reader who favors honed writing of the variety that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was captivated by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. It possesses a fresh level of observation that allows space for minutiae, like the bucket that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the opening of the book, helped by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she declares; "a nice toy", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". She tells Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not hers, exactly."
Frustration and Disruption
I was destined to be disappointed when I expected this fresh tone could continue through the novel. The author states here that she dislikes the pleasure readers like me have gotten from I Love Dick; she's committed to disjunction, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her earlier works comes back in the central part. The protagonist is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between Minnesota and LA, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She feels helpless as Paul cycles through low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a world fueled by the anger and fear that underpins Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "landlord" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she states that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an the United States that her online critics would be unable to grasp, would not even perceive".
The Murder Narrative
Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the titular day spent by the deceased with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus has excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what occurred as Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He was hoping for sex but appears congenially to have passed the day with her companions, mooching around having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being murdered by Brittney's partner Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
The protagonist becomes fixated by the account, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and daring boundary-pushing wrestle in this part. But I'd have liked her to go further into her own obsessions here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid partly through Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in prison, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels curiously unresolved, to the point that her narrative ends almost mid-par
