The Four Spent the Day Together features characters chasing after fresh starts, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into violence. Kraus often employs the phrase "new beginning", rendering it intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They chose to begin anew" appear throughout the story. At the same time, the author herself appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, as this presents as a new kind of book – observational, authentically narrative. Yet it turns out to be laden with the same dilemmas and approaches as earlier books.
From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic
The writer started out as an creative who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, converting confessional female writing from self-debasement into assassination. She continued writing, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels missed the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format brought to the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a nonconformist creator who had become a extensive real estate holder, so there was much discussion on housing investments. It follows that she now wants to explore different types of content, looking outwards to external narratives, at a time when she claims that Trumpian politics makes confessional writing obsolete.
Several Eras, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning several time periods – none able to break free from their backgrounds. We encounter the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, based on Kraus's parents, transitioning from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. There is the narrative of the author, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her substance-dependent spouse her husband Paul. And there is the account of a killing of one directionless individual by another in a locality mostly forsaken by liberal ideals only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.
From my perspective as a reader attracted to honed writing of the kind Kraus typically rejects, I was captivated by the literary tone of the initial segment.
Being a reader who favors crafted language of the kind that Kraus tends to eschew, I was won over by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. It exhibits a novel degree of detail that makes room for small details, like the container that the youthful Catt dislodges from ice at the opening of the book, assisted by her cherished parent. "Look, an ice toy!" she says; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like sweet treats". She tells Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was destined to be disappointed when I expected this different style could last out the book. Kraus says here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's committed to fragmentation, to the messy artistic approach she shares with her hero Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books returns in the second segment. Catt Greene is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between the Midwest and the West Coast, failing to help Paul control his drinking. She feels helpless as Paul moves between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a environment propelled by the anger and fear that powers an electoral success. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on social media, her professional designation altered from "author" to "landlord" on Wikipedia. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she states that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".
The Killing Story
So then we come to the homicide in question – and the referenced day passed by the deceased with the killer and his associates. Kraus has great source material, and knows hour by hour what happened when the victim Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day in the company of her associates, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being shot by Brittney's partner Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I was intrigued by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression clash in this segment. But I'd have liked her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The compelling persona is Brittney herself, who gains dimension in part due to Catt seeing herself in her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. The author informs us that Catt speaks to Brittney in jail, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par
