The new book centers on individuals chasing after clean slates, trying to break free from substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. Kraus often employs the phrase "fresh start", making it deliberately jaded through its repetitions. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the text. And yet, she is embarking on her individual reinvention, as this appears a different type of work – documentarian, authentically narrative. However it turns out to be laden with the recurring issues and styles as her previous works.
From Accidental Writer to Renowned Book
The writer was originally an artist who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of letters to an unreceptive lover, converting personal female narrative from self-debasement into rebellion. She continued writing, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels missed the power and directness that the letter form brought to the voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a maverick maker who had evolved into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was significant attention on housing investments. It follows that she now wants to explore fresh narrative sources, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a time when she claims that Trumpian politics makes confessional writing obsolete.
Several Eras, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning several time periods – none able to break free from their pasts. The book includes the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, relocating from the urban environment to a pastoral setting. Additionally the story of Kraus herself, in the character of Catt Greene, confronting the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her addict husband Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a locality largely deserted by progressive politics only a brief drive from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.
As a reader attracted to refined literature of the sort the author herself often avoids, I was seduced by the narrative style of the opening part.
Being a reader who appreciates crafted language of the kind that Kraus usually avoids, I was won over by the storytelling approach of the initial part. It exhibits a novel degree of detail that accommodates minutiae, like the bucket that the youthful Catt dislodges from ice at the start of the story, helped by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words circulating in their speech like piece candy". The author narrates Emma's narrative with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this different style could persist to the end. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the satisfaction readers like me have taken from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books reasserts itself in the second segment. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid her husband manage his alcohol use. She is overwhelmed as her spouse transitions between low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a society driven by the anger and fear that powers a political win. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation on Twitter, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "landlord" on Wikipedia. The author still appears to care a little too much about this. On one occasion she states that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an the nation that her social media opponents would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".
The Homicide Account
Then we reach to the actual killing – and the referenced day experienced by the murdered individual with the killer and his companions. Kraus has great source material, and reconstructs step by step what happened when the victim Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day in the company of her associates, wandering about fixing his automobile and covering the cost of food and substances, before being murdered by her romantic interest Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her own obsessions here. The most interesting character is the character Brittney, who becomes vivid in part due to Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a struggling, neglected community. The author informs us that Catt speaks to Brittney in jail, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the extent that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
