The new book centers on protagonists chasing after clean slates, trying to break free from substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. Kraus often employs the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the text. Meanwhile, she appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, as this appears a different type of work – observational, authentically narrative. But then it reveals itself to be packed with the recurring issues and aesthetics as her previous works.
From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic
Kraus began as an visual artist who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, which was composed of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, elevating confessional female writing from abjection into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the following three engaging and challenging novels did not possess the power and directness that the correspondence format infused into the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her role as a maverick maker who had evolved into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It is logical that she now wants 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, Collective Unavoidable Background
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, encompassing three generations – none able to break free from their pasts. We encounter the story of Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, transitioning from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. There is the narrative of the author, in the persona of Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband her husband Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a locality long abandoned by progressive politics only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in rural Minnesota.
From my perspective as a reader fond of honed writing of the kind Kraus tends to eschew, I was seduced by the narrative style of the first section.
As someone who reads who favors precise prose of the style that the author usually avoids, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the initial part. It exhibits a fresh level of observation that accommodates small details, like the container that the protagonist as a child pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, aided by her beloved father. "Look, an ice toy!" she declares; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like hard candy". Kraus writes the tale of Emma with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was fated to feel let down when I wished this new voice could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she resents the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, to the messy artistic approach she has in common with her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her previous novels reasserts itself in the second segment. Catt is trying to renovate 36 run-down apartments in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between the Midwest and the West Coast, failing to help Paul control his drinking. She feels helpless as Paul transitions between underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a environment propelled by the rage and anxiety that powers an electoral success. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. 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 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 Homicide Account
Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the referenced day passed by the murdered individual with the murderer and his friends. Kraus has excellent raw material, and knows hour by hour what transpired when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but seems amiably to have occupied the day alongside her friends, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by her romantic interest Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has often been institutionalized for fits of anger.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I was intrigued by the way that her twin drives towards accurate chronicling and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who comes alive in part due to the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman derailing in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
