The new book centers on characters seeking clean slates, attempting to leave behind addictions or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into aggression. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "fresh start", making it willfully cynical through recurring use. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the narrative. Meanwhile, she is embarking on her own fresh start, as this seems a new kind of book – documentarian, truly literary. Yet it reveals itself to be filled with the familiar conflicts and approaches as her previous works.
From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic
Kraus began as an artist who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, transforming confessional female writing from humiliation into defiance. She persisted as a writer, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels lacked the shock and immediacy that the epistolary style infused into the voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her identity as a renegade artist who had turned into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was significant attention on real estate deals. It is logical that she presently aims to try out new kinds of material, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a period in which she states that current political era renders personal narrative obsolete.
Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning three generations – none able to break free from their backgrounds. We encounter the tale of Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, moving from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the character of Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. And there is the story of the murder of one lost young man by another in a community mostly forsaken by liberal ideals only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in the Minnesota countryside.
As a reader attracted to refined literature of the kind Kraus typically rejects, I was enchanted by the literary tone of the opening part.
Being a reader who favors crafted language of the kind that the author tends to eschew, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening segment. It exhibits a novel degree of detail that accommodates small details, like the container that the young Catt frees from the ice at the beginning of the narrative, aided by her adored dad. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she says; "a great plaything", he replies, "the nuanced interpretations of terms circulating in their speech like hard candy". The author narrates Emma's story with interest and closeness. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not precisely her dream."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this fresh tone could continue through the novel. The author states here that she dislikes the enjoyment audiences such as myself have gotten from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her hero Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works returns in the second segment. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between Minnesota and LA, failing to help Paul control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as Paul cycles through poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a world driven by the rage and anxiety that underpins Trump's victory. Multiple pages are devoted about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her occupation changed from "author" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she states that she's looking into the killing so that before exiting the region, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her online critics would be unable to grasp, would not even see".
The Murder Narrative
Thus we arrive to the homicide in question – and the eponymous day spent by the murdered individual with the killer and his friends. The author possesses compelling foundational content, and details moment by moment what transpired when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day with her companions, loitering having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being murdered by Brittney's partner Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has often been institutionalized for aggressive outbursts.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and reckless transgression tussle in this section. Yet I wished her to delve deeper into her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is Brittney herself, who gains dimension partly through Catt seeing herself in her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus notes that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The whole section feels strangely incomplete, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
