This latest work is populated with characters seeking new beginnings, trying to break free from substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to find hope curdling into aggression. The author frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the story. At the same time, the author herself appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, since this appears a novel form of writing – fact-based, authentically narrative. But then it reveals itself to be laden with the familiar conflicts and aesthetics as earlier books.
From Unplanned Author to Iconic Work
Kraus began as an creative 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, converting intimate women's literature from self-debasement into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the following three engaging and challenging novels missed the shock and immediacy that the letter form imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a renegade artist who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It makes sense that she now wants to explore new kinds of material, turning outward to external narratives, at a moment when she states that Trumpian politics turns intimate literature unnecessary.
Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning three generations – none able to break free from their pasts. There is the tale of a couple named Emma and Jasper, based on her own mother and father, moving from the Bronx to rural Connecticut. There is 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 story of the murder of one troubled youth by another in a community largely deserted by liberal ideals only 80 miles from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.
For this reader attracted to honed writing of the type the author herself typically rejects, I was enchanted by the novelistic voice of the opening part.
As someone who reads who favors honed writing of the kind that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the initial part. It exhibits a novel degree of detail that allows space for minutiae, like the bucket that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the beginning of the narrative, helped by her cherished parent. "I found an ice toy!" she says; "a great plaything", he responds, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates Emma's narrative with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was fated to feel let down when I hoped this different style could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she resents the pleasure readers like me have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the unpolished style she echoes from her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works returns in the central part. Catt is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between two different states, unable to aid her husband control his drinking. She feels helpless as Paul transitions between underfunded jobs as an addiction therapist in a world propelled by the anger and fear that powers an electoral success. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her listed profession modified from "author" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she remarks that she's looking into the killing so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an America that her Twitter detractors would not understand, would overlook entirely".
The Killing Story
Then we reach to the murder itself – and the eponymous day passed by the murdered individual with the killer and his associates. Kraus utilizes great source material, and knows hour by hour what transpired when Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but seems affably to have spent the day with her companions, loitering fixing his automobile and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by her romantic interest Micah – a individual with mental health challenges 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 Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and daring boundary-pushing clash in this segment. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her individual preoccupations here. The most interesting character is the character Brittney, who comes alive partly through Catt seeing herself in her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels curiously unresolved, to the extent that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
