The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with protagonists pursuing new beginnings, trying to break free from addictions or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into conflict. The author frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They decided to make a fresh start" are scattered across the text. And yet, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, since this appears a novel form of writing – observational, authentically narrative. But then it proves to be packed with the familiar conflicts and aesthetics as her previous works.
From Chance Novelist to Iconic Work
Kraus began as an creative who entered the literary world almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming personal female narrative from self-debasement into defiance. She persisted as a writer, but the following three engaging and challenging novels lacked the shock and immediacy that the epistolary style infused into the narrative voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her position as a renegade artist who had turned into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was considerable focus on property transactions. It makes sense that she presently aims to try out fresh narrative sources, looking outwards to other people's stories, at a moment when she states that Trumpian politics makes confessional writing unnecessary.
Multiple Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, encompassing several time periods – each trapped by their backgrounds. The book includes the tale of characters Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, transitioning from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. Then there is the narrative of the author, in the guise of Catt Greene, reckoning with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her addict husband Paul. And there is the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a community long abandoned by progressive politics only a brief drive from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.
From my perspective as a reader drawn to refined literature of the kind the author herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the narrative style of the initial segment.
Being a reader who favors crafted language of the variety that the author usually avoids, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. It possesses a novel degree of detail that accommodates trivial aspects, like the container that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the opening of the book, helped by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". She tells Emma's narrative with curiosity and intimacy. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not precisely her dream."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was bound to become frustrated when I hoped this fresh tone could persist to the end. Kraus says here that she dislikes 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 hero Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her earlier works returns in the middle section. Catt is trying to renovate multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while moving between two different states, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She is overwhelmed as Paul cycles through poorly supported positions as an recovery specialist in a environment driven by the anger and fear that powers a political win. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on social media, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "real estate holder" on a reference site. She still gives the impression to care a little too much about this. On one occasion she remarks 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 social media opponents would not understand, would overlook entirely".
The Murder Narrative
Then we reach to the actual killing – and the referenced day passed by the murdered individual with the killer and his associates. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and knows hour by hour what occurred as Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He anticipated intimacy but seems affably to have spent the day with her companions, loitering having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has often been institutionalized for fits of anger.
Fascination and Incompletion
Catt gets obsessed by the narrative, and I was intrigued by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing tussle in this section. But I'd have liked her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is Brittney, who comes alive in part due to Catt seeing herself in her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
