The new book centers on characters seeking fresh starts, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to see hope turn into violence. The author often employs the phrase "fresh start", making it willfully cynical through recurring use. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They decided to make a fresh start" are scattered across the text. At the same time, the author herself seems to be making her personal new beginning, since this presents as a novel form of writing – observational, authentically narrative. But then it proves to be filled with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as earlier books.
From Unplanned Author to Iconic Work
The writer was originally an creative who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, made up of letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming confessional female writing from abjection into assassination. She continued writing, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels missed the impact and rawness that the epistolary style infused into the voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a extensive real estate holder, so there was much discussion 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 current political era turns intimate literature unnecessary.
Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, encompassing three generations – none able to break free from their backgrounds. We encounter the tale of Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, relocating from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. And there is the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a locality long abandoned by progressive politics only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in a remote part of Minnesota.
As a reader fond of polished prose of the kind Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening part.
As someone who reads who appreciates crafted language of the kind that the author often disregards, I was won over by the storytelling approach of the initial part. It possesses a fresh level of observation that allows space for trivial aspects, like the bucket that the youthful Catt pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, assisted by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she says; "a great plaything", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."
Disappointment and Disjunction
I was bound to become frustrated when I expected this new voice could continue through the novel. Kraus notes here that she resents the enjoyment audiences such as myself have gotten from I Love Dick; she's committed to disjunction, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her inspiration writer Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her previous novels reasserts itself in the middle section. Catt Greene is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between two different states, unsuccessful in assisting her husband curb his addiction. She feels helpless as Paul cycles through poorly supported positions as an addiction therapist in a environment driven by the rage and anxiety that drives an electoral success. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her occupation changed from "author" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. She still gives the impression to care a little too much about this. In a moment she remarks that she's researching the homicide so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her social media opponents would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".
The Killing Story
Thus we arrive to the homicide in question – and the referenced day spent by the murdered individual with the murderer and his friends. Kraus has great source material, and details moment by moment what occurred as Brandon came to visit Brittney after meeting her on an app where she sold sex pictures. He anticipated intimacy but appears congenially to have passed the day in the company of her associates, wandering about getting his car mended and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by her romantic interest a man named Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
Catt develops an obsession by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. But I'd have liked her to delve deeper into her own obsessions here. The standout figure is Brittney, who comes alive partly through the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
