The new book features protagonists seeking new beginnings, trying to break free from substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. Chris Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into intentionally weary through recurring use. Examples include "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the story. And yet, she seems to be making her individual reinvention, since this presents as a new kind of book – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. Yet it reveals itself to be filled with the recurring issues and approaches as earlier books.
From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic
Chris Kraus began as an visual artist who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, converting confessional female writing from humiliation into assassination. She kept producing books, 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. This was not aided by was her position as a nonconformist creator who had become a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It makes sense that she presently aims to try out new kinds of material, looking outwards to other people's stories, at a moment when she claims that current political era makes confessional writing redundant.
Several Eras, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, spanning three generations – each trapped by their histories. The book includes the tale of Emma and Jasper, representations of her own mother and father, moving from the urban environment to rural Connecticut. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the character of a figure named Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one lost young man by another in a community largely deserted by progressive politics only a brief drive from Catt's cottage in a remote part of Minnesota.
From my perspective as a reader attracted to polished prose of the kind Kraus typically rejects, I was enchanted by the literary tone of the opening part.
Being a reader who appreciates crafted language of the variety that Kraus tends to eschew, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. There is a new quality of attentiveness that allows space for minutiae, like the pail that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the beginning of the narrative, aided by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with inquiry and familiarity. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not entirely her own."
Disappointment and Disjunction
I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus says here that she resents the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to disjunction, to the unpolished style she echoes from her idol author Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her past books reasserts itself in the middle section. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while moving between Minnesota and LA, unsuccessful in assisting her husband curb his addiction. She feels helpless as Paul moves between poorly supported positions as an recovery specialist in a world driven by the hostility and dread that underpins a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt's social media ostracism on Twitter, her professional designation altered from "author" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. At one point she states that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her Twitter detractors would fail to comprehend, would not even see".
The Homicide Account
Then we reach to the homicide in question – and the referenced day experienced by the deceased with the killer and his friends. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what happened when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she marketed explicit images. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day alongside her friends, loitering fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by her romantic interest a man named Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has frequently been hospitalised for fits of anger.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I was intrigued by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is Brittney, who becomes vivid in part due to the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The complete segment feels curiously unresolved, to the extent that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
