🔗 Share this article

The new book centers on individuals pursuing clean slates, struggling to escape addictions or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into violence. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", rendering it deliberately jaded through recurring use. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the story. At the same time, she seems to be making her personal new beginning, since this presents as a novel form of writing – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. But then it proves to be packed with the recurring issues and styles as earlier books.

From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic

Chris Kraus began as an creative who entered the literary world unintentionally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming personal female narrative from abjection into assassination. She continued writing, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels lacked the shock and immediacy that the letter form imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her position as a maverick maker who had turned into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on housing investments. It makes sense that she now wants to experiment with different types of content, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a period in which she claims that current political era renders personal narrative unnecessary.

Three Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing several time periods – none able to break free from their histories. There is the narrative about a couple named Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, moving from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the guise of a figure named Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her substance-dependent spouse a man named Paul. The third thread involves the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a locality largely deserted by progressive politics only 80 miles from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader attracted to polished prose of the kind the author herself often avoids, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.

Being a reader drawn to precise prose of the kind that Kraus 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 bucket that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the start of the story, aided by her cherished parent. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he responds, "the ambiguous meanings of language tumbling in their mouths like sweet treats". She tells Emma's narrative with interest and closeness. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this fresh tone could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she resents the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, to the untidy aesthetics she echoes from her hero author Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her previous novels returns in the middle section. Catt is attempting to do up three dozen dilapidated units in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between two different states, unsuccessful in assisting Paul manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as Paul transitions between poorly supported positions as an recovery specialist in a world fueled by the hostility and dread that powers an electoral success. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on social media, her professional designation altered from "writer" to "landlord" on a reference site. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she remarks that she's looking into the killing so that before exiting the region, "she might be able to learn something about an the nation that her social media opponents would not understand, would not even perceive".

The Killing Story

So then we come to the actual killing – and the eponymous day spent by the deceased with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus has great source material, and details moment by moment what transpired when the victim Brandon came to visit Brittney after meeting her on an app where she marketed explicit images. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, mooching around fixing his automobile and covering the cost of food and substances, before being shot by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.

Fascination and Incompletion

Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and reckless transgression clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The compelling persona is Brittney herself, who gains dimension partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman spiraling out of control in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels curiously unresolved, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par