This latest work is populated with protagonists seeking fresh starts, attempting to leave behind drugs or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. The author frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", rendering it intentionally weary through recurring use. Sentences like "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the story. Meanwhile, she is embarking on her own fresh start, because this seems a new kind of book – fact-based, authentically narrative. However it reveals itself to be laden with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as her previous works.
From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book
Kraus began as an visual artist who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, transforming personal female narrative from humiliation into defiance. She continued writing, but the next trio of engaging and challenging novels did not possess the impact and rawness that the correspondence format infused into the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a maverick maker who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on housing investments. It follows that she presently aims to try out new kinds of material, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a time when she states that Trumpian politics makes confessional writing obsolete.
Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning multiple eras – none able to break free from their histories. We encounter the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, moving from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the guise of Catt Greene, reckoning with the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction her husband Paul. And there is the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a community largely deserted by liberal ideals only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in the Minnesota countryside.
From my perspective as a reader attracted to polished prose of the kind Kraus often avoids, I was captivated by the narrative style of the opening part.
As someone who reads who appreciates honed writing of the kind that Kraus herself often disregards, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. It exhibits a fresh level of observation that allows space for minutiae, like the container that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, assisted by her beloved father. "I found an ice toy!" she says; "a great plaything", he replies, "the nuanced interpretations of terms tumbling in their mouths like hard candy". Kraus writes the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was destined to be disappointed when I hoped this fresh tone could continue through the novel. The author states here that she is annoyed by the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's devoted to fragmentation, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her idol author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her past books comes back in the central part. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between two different states, unable to aid her husband control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as Paul cycles through underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a world driven by the anger and fear that powers a political win. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "landlord" on a reference site. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she states that she's looking into the killing so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an the nation that her Twitter detractors would not understand, would overlook entirely".
The Homicide Account
Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the eponymous day experienced by the victim with the murderer and his friends. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as a man named Brandon came to visit Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she marketed explicit images. He anticipated intimacy but seems amiably to have occupied the day with her companions, wandering about fixing his automobile 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 fits of anger.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
The protagonist becomes fixated by the account, and I was fascinated by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to explore more thoroughly her own obsessions here. The compelling persona is Brittney, who gains dimension partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman spiraling out of control in a struggling, neglected community. The author informs us that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
