The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with protagonists chasing after clean slates, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. The author frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", rendering it intentionally weary through recurring use. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They decided to make a fresh start" appear throughout the narrative. Meanwhile, the author herself seems to be making her personal new beginning, since this presents as a different type of work – fact-based, authentically narrative. Yet it reveals itself to be laden with the familiar conflicts and aesthetics as earlier books.
From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic
Kraus began as an artist who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, structured as letters to an unreceptive lover, elevating personal female narrative from abjection into rebellion. She continued writing, but the following three compelling and abrasive novels missed the power and directness that the epistolary style brought to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her position as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a extensive real estate holder, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It is logical that she currently desires to explore new kinds of material, looking outwards to other people's stories, at a time when she states that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing obsolete.
Multiple Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing multiple eras – none able to break free from their histories. There is the story of characters Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, moving from the Bronx to rural Connecticut. There is the story of Kraus herself, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse Paul. And there is the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a town mostly forsaken by forward-thinking policies only a short distance from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.
As a reader drawn to refined literature of the sort Kraus herself often avoids, I was enchanted by the novelistic voice of the first section.
As a reader drawn to honed writing of the kind that the author usually avoids, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening segment. It possesses a novel degree of detail that makes room for trivial aspects, like the container that the young Catt frees from the ice at the beginning of the narrative, aided by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she says; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like hard candy". She tells Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not entirely her own."
Frustration and Disruption
I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this fresh tone could last out the book. The author states here that she resents the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the unpolished style she has in common with her idol author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books comes back in the second segment. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while traveling between two different states, unsuccessful in assisting Paul curb his addiction. She feels helpless as Paul cycles through underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a world propelled by the rage and anxiety that powers a political win. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her professional designation altered from "writer" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she states that she's researching the homicide so that before exiting the region, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States that her social media opponents would not understand, would not even perceive".
The Homicide Account
Thus we arrive to the homicide in question – and the eponymous day experienced by the victim with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus utilizes compelling foundational content, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as Brandon came to visit Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He anticipated intimacy but seems affably to have spent the day with her companions, loitering fixing his automobile and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by Brittney's partner Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has often been institutionalized for violent rage.
Fascination and Incompletion
Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing clash in this segment. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is Brittney, who becomes vivid in part due to the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels curiously unresolved, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
