The new book is populated with individuals seeking fresh starts, attempting to leave behind addictions or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into aggression. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", making it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Examples include "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the narrative. And yet, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, because this presents as a new kind of book – fact-based, authentically narrative. However it proves to be filled with the recurring issues and styles as her previous works.
From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic
Chris Kraus was originally an visual artist who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, structured as letters to an unreceptive lover, converting intimate women's literature from abjection into assassination. She kept producing books, but the next trio of compelling and abrasive novels lacked the power and directness that the correspondence format imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a maverick maker who had become a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was much discussion on housing investments. It is logical that she now wants to try out fresh narrative sources, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a time when she claims that current political era makes confessional writing obsolete.
Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, encompassing three generations – each trapped by their pasts. We encounter the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, based on her own mother and father, relocating from the urban environment to a pastoral setting. There is the narrative of the author, in the character of a figure named Catt Greene, reckoning with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband her husband Paul. And there is the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a community long abandoned by liberal ideals only 80 miles from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.
For this reader attracted to refined literature of the type Kraus herself often avoids, I was enchanted by the literary tone of the first section.
Being a reader drawn to honed writing of the style that the author usually avoids, I was captivated by the literary tone of the first section. It possesses a fresh level of observation that accommodates trivial aspects, like the bucket that the protagonist as a child pries out of frozen water at the beginning of the narrative, aided by her beloved father. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates the tale of Emma with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not precisely her dream."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this fresh tone could continue through the novel. Kraus notes here that she resents the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to fragmentation, to the messy artistic approach she shares with her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her earlier works returns in the central part. Catt Greene is attempting to do up three dozen dilapidated units in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while moving between Minnesota and LA, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She experiences powerlessness as Paul moves between low-resource employment as an substance abuse counselor in a world fueled by the anger and fear that powers a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt being cancelled on social media, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "property owner" on Wikipedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she states that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she may grasp something about an the United States that her social media opponents would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".
The Murder Narrative
So then we come to the murder itself – and the titular day spent by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his friends. Kraus has great source material, and details moment by moment what occurred as Brandon came to visit Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but seems affably to have spent the day with her companions, mooching around fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has frequently been hospitalised for fits of anger.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I was intrigued by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards responsible documentation and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her personal fixations here. The compelling persona is the character Brittney, who gains dimension partly through Catt seeing herself in her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus notes that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels curiously unresolved, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par
