This latest work features protagonists seeking new beginnings, trying to break free from addictions or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. Chris Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They decided to make a fresh start" recur in the story. At the same time, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, because this presents as a different type of work – documentarian, authentically narrative. Yet it turns out to be packed with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as her previous works.
From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book
Kraus was originally an artist who became a writer somewhat by chance with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming confessional female writing from abjection into defiance. She continued writing, but the following three engaging and challenging novels lacked the shock and immediacy that the epistolary style brought to the voice 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 real estate deals. It is logical that she presently aims to experiment with new kinds of material, turning outward to external narratives, at a period in which she states that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative unnecessary.
Three Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, spanning three generations – each trapped by their pasts. The book includes the tale of characters Emma and Jasper, versions of her own mother and father, moving from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Then there is the account of Kraus, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one lost young man by another in a community largely deserted by liberal ideals only a short distance from Catt's cottage in the Minnesota countryside.
For this reader attracted to honed writing of the kind the author herself often avoids, I was enchanted by the novelistic voice of the opening part.
Being a reader who favors honed writing of the kind that the author often disregards, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. It exhibits a fresh level of observation that allows space for trivial aspects, like the pail that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the start of the story, assisted by her adored dad. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the elliptical meanings of words circulating in their speech like hard candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was destined to be disappointed when I hoped this different style could continue through the novel. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment readers like me have taken from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her earlier works returns in the middle section. The protagonist is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unsuccessful in assisting her husband manage his alcohol use. She is overwhelmed as Paul transitions between poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a environment fueled by the anger and fear that drives Trump's victory. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on Twitter, her occupation changed from "writer" to "property owner" on a reference site. Kraus still seems to invest excessive emotion about this. In a moment she says that she's looking into the killing so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her online critics would not understand, would not even see".
The Homicide Account
Then we reach to the homicide in question – and the eponymous day experienced by the deceased with the perpetrator and his associates. Kraus has great source material, and details moment by moment what happened when a man named Brandon came to meet Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day with her companions, loitering having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression tussle in this section. But I'd have liked her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who gains dimension partly through Catt seeing herself in her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. The author informs us that Catt converses with Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels curiously unresolved, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par
