The Four Spent the Day Together centers on individuals pursuing new beginnings, struggling to escape addictions or abusive marriages, only to witness hope devolve into violence. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", rendering it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the story. And yet, the author herself appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, since this presents as a new kind of book – fact-based, truly literary. However it proves to be laden with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as her previous works.
From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic
Chris Kraus was originally an creative who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, structured as letters to an unreceptive lover, converting personal female narrative from humiliation into defiance. She kept producing books, but the following three engaging and challenging novels missed the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format infused into the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a maverick maker who had become a extensive real estate holder, so there was much discussion on housing investments. It follows that she currently desires to explore different types of content, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a moment when she claims that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative unnecessary.
Three Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing three generations – none able to break free from their histories. We encounter the tale of Emma and Jasper, based on her own mother and father, relocating from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. Then there is the account of Kraus, in the persona of a figure named Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one directionless individual by another in a community largely deserted by progressive politics only 80 miles from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.
From my perspective as a reader drawn to honed writing of the kind Kraus herself typically rejects, I was captivated by the narrative style of the opening part.
As someone who reads drawn to crafted language of the kind that Kraus herself often disregards, I was won over by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. There is a fresh level of observation that makes room for trivial aspects, like the container that the protagonist as a child dislodges from ice at the opening of the book, helped by her beloved father. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he responds, "the elliptical meanings of words circulating in their speech like sweet treats". The author narrates Emma's story with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."
Disappointment and Disjunction
I was bound to become frustrated when I hoped this different style could continue through the novel. The author states here that she resents the enjoyment readers like me have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the unpolished style she echoes from her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her earlier works reasserts itself in the middle section. Catt is trying to renovate three dozen dilapidated units in the city's most challenging districts while shuttling between Minnesota and LA, failing to help Paul control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as her spouse transitions between underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a environment propelled by the hostility and dread that powers Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on social media, her occupation changed from "writer" to "landlord" on the online encyclopedia. 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 departing the state, "she may grasp something about an the United States that her online critics would not understand, would not even perceive".
The Murder Narrative
Thus we arrive to the homicide in question – and the titular day experienced by the deceased with the murderer and his associates. The author possesses excellent raw material, and knows hour by hour what transpired when a man named Brandon came to meet Brittney after meeting her on an app where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, wandering about fixing his automobile and funding treats and narcotics, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has often been institutionalized for fits of anger.
Fascination and Incompletion
The protagonist becomes fixated by the narrative, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and audacious rule-breaking clash in this segment. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The most interesting character is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid partially because of Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. The author informs us that Catt speaks to Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
