The new book features characters seeking clean slates, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "clean slate", rendering it intentionally weary through recurring use. Sentences like "He aimed to start over" and "They chose to begin anew" are scattered across the text. Meanwhile, she appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, since this appears a different type of work – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. However it reveals itself to be filled with the same dilemmas and approaches as her previous works.
From Unplanned Author to Renowned Book
The writer started out as an visual artist who entered the literary world somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, transforming confessional female writing from abjection into defiance. She persisted as a writer, but the following three engaging and challenging novels missed the impact and rawness that the letter form imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a maverick maker who had become a extensive real estate holder, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It makes sense that she currently desires to try out fresh narrative sources, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a moment when she asserts that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing obsolete.
Multiple Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing several time periods – each trapped by their pasts. The book includes the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, transitioning from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the narrative of the author, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse her husband Paul. And there is the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a town largely deserted by liberal ideals only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.
As a reader drawn to honed writing of the type Kraus often avoids, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening part.
As someone who reads who favors crafted language of the kind that the author tends to eschew, I was seduced by the literary tone of the first section. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that makes room for small details, like the pail that the young Catt frees from the ice at the opening of the book, aided by her cherished parent. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words circulating in their speech like sweet treats". She tells the tale of Emma with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."
Frustration and Disruption
I was bound to become frustrated when I hoped this fresh tone could continue through the novel. Kraus notes here that she dislikes the enjoyment readers like me have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her hero Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books reasserts itself in the middle section. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, failing to help Paul manage his alcohol use. She is overwhelmed as Paul transitions between poorly supported positions as an recovery specialist in a world fueled by the anger and fear that powers a political win. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on social media, her professional designation altered from "author" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. The author still appears to invest excessive emotion about this. In a moment she remarks that she's researching the homicide so that before exiting the region, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her social media opponents would not understand, would not even perceive".
The Homicide Account
Then we reach to the actual killing – and the titular day experienced by the victim with the murderer and his associates. The author possesses great source material, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as the victim Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but seems affably to have spent the day alongside her friends, wandering about getting his car mended and covering the cost of food and substances, before being murdered by her romantic interest Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has often been institutionalized for violent rage.
Fascination and Incompletion
Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. Yet I wished her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who comes alive in part due to the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl going off the rails in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
