The new book is populated with individuals seeking new beginnings, trying to break free from substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to find hope curdling into conflict. The author frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", rendering it willfully cynical through constant reiteration. Examples include "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the narrative. Meanwhile, she appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, because this presents as a different type of work – observational, authentically narrative. But then it proves to be filled with the familiar conflicts and approaches as past novels.
From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic
Kraus started out as an visual artist who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, structured as letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming confessional female writing from self-debasement into assassination. She continued writing, but the following three engaging and challenging novels did not possess the shock and immediacy that the epistolary style infused into the voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was much discussion on property transactions. It is logical that she now wants to experiment with different types of content, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a time when she asserts that contemporary political climate renders personal narrative obsolete.
Multiple Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering three generations – none able to break free from their pasts. The book includes the tale of characters Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, moving from the New York borough to rural Connecticut. Then there is the account of Kraus, in the character of Catt Greene, reckoning with the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. And there is the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a town long abandoned by forward-thinking policies only 80 miles from Catt's cottage in the Minnesota countryside.
For this reader drawn to polished prose of the kind Kraus often avoids, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the first section.
Being a reader drawn to crafted language of the style that the author often disregards, I was seduced by the literary tone of the first section. There is a fresh level of observation that accommodates minutiae, like the bucket that the protagonist as a child pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, aided by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he answers, "the ambiguous meanings of language tumbling in their mouths like sweet treats". Kraus writes Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."
Frustration and Disruption
I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this new voice could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she resents the satisfaction readers like me have derived from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disjunction, to the untidy aesthetics she echoes from her idol Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books reasserts itself in the middle section. Catt Greene is trying to renovate 36 run-down apartments in the city's most challenging districts while shuttling between Minnesota and LA, failing to help Paul manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as Paul cycles through low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a society propelled by the rage and anxiety that drives an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on Twitter, her occupation changed from "writer" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. At one point she remarks that she's looking into the killing so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an America that her social media opponents would not understand, would not even see".
The Killing Story
Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the referenced day spent by the deceased with the perpetrator and his associates. The author possesses compelling foundational content, and details moment by moment what transpired when Brandon came to visit Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she sold sex pictures. He anticipated intimacy but seems amiably to have occupied the day with her companions, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a young, mentally ill man 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 the author's conflicting impulses towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. But I'd have liked her to go further into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who gains dimension partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par
