The new book centers on protagonists pursuing clean slates, struggling to escape substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. The author often employs the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Examples include "He could make a fresh start" and "They chose to begin anew" appear throughout the text. Meanwhile, the author herself seems to be making her personal new beginning, as this presents as a different type of work – observational, truly literary. Yet it proves to be laden with the same dilemmas and approaches as past novels.
From Chance Novelist to Iconic Work
Chris Kraus started out as an creative who entered the literary world almost accidentally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming confessional female writing from abjection into rebellion. She kept producing books, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels did not possess the impact and rawness that the correspondence format infused into the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her role as a maverick maker who had become a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was much discussion on housing investments. It follows that she currently desires to try out fresh narrative sources, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a period in which she states that current political era renders personal narrative obsolete.
Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing three generations – each trapped by their backgrounds. The book includes the tale of Emma and Jasper, based on Kraus's parents, moving from the urban environment to a pastoral setting. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of a figure named Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband Paul. And there is the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a community mostly forsaken by progressive politics only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.
From my perspective as a reader fond of refined literature of the kind Kraus herself often avoids, I was seduced by the narrative style of the opening part.
Being a reader who favors honed writing of the kind that Kraus herself often disregards, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening segment. It exhibits a fresh level of observation that makes room for small details, like the pail that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the beginning of the narrative, helped by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she declares; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like hard candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with inquiry and familiarity. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not precisely her dream."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was bound to become frustrated when I hoped this fresh tone could persist to the end. The author states here that she is annoyed by the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she shares with her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her past books returns in the middle section. The protagonist is trying to renovate three dozen dilapidated units in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between Minnesota and LA, unsuccessful in assisting Paul control his drinking. She feels helpless as Paul cycles through poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a world driven by the rage and anxiety that drives an electoral success. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt's social media ostracism on Twitter, her occupation changed from "writer" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to care a little too much about this. In a moment she states that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an the nation that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would not even perceive".
The Murder Narrative
So then we come to the murder itself – and the eponymous day spent by the deceased with the murderer and his companions. Kraus utilizes great source material, and knows hour by hour what happened when a man named Brandon came to visit Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He was hoping for sex but seems affably to have spent the day alongside her friends, loitering having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being killed by gunfire by her romantic interest Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
The protagonist becomes fixated by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that her twin drives towards responsible documentation and audacious rule-breaking clash in this segment. But I'd have liked her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who comes alive partially because of Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus notes that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in jail, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels curiously unresolved, to the extent that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
