This latest work is populated with characters pursuing new beginnings, struggling to escape substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into conflict. Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into deliberately jaded through recurring use. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the story. At the same time, the author herself seems to be making her own fresh start, since this seems a different type of work – fact-based, authentically narrative. Yet it reveals itself to be filled with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as her previous works.
From Unplanned Author to Renowned Book
Chris Kraus started out as an artist who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, structured as epistles to an unresponsive love interest, elevating confessional female writing from self-debasement into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the impact and rawness that the epistolary style brought to the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was much discussion on property transactions. It is logical that she presently aims to experiment with new kinds of material, turning outward to other people's stories, at a time when she states that current political era turns intimate literature redundant.
Multiple Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, covering several time periods – none able to break free from their pasts. We encounter the narrative about Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, relocating from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of a figure named Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her addict husband Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a locality largely deserted by liberal ideals only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in rural Minnesota.
From my perspective as a reader attracted to refined literature of the sort Kraus herself often avoids, I was enchanted by the novelistic voice of the first section.
Being a reader who favors honed writing of the kind that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was won over by the literary tone of the initial part. It exhibits a novel degree of detail that allows space for minutiae, like the pail that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the opening of the book, assisted by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she declares; "a great plaything", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words circulating in their speech like hard candy". The author narrates Emma's narrative with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not precisely her dream."
Disappointment and Disjunction
I was destined to be disappointed when I expected this new voice could persist to the end. Kraus notes here that she resents the satisfaction audiences such as myself have gotten from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the unpolished style she has in common with her hero writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels reasserts itself in the second segment. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between two different states, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She experiences powerlessness as Paul cycles through low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a environment propelled by the anger and fear that powers Trump's victory. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on social media, her occupation changed from "author" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she says that she's looking into the killing so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her Twitter detractors would not understand, would not even see".
The Homicide Account
Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the titular day passed by the murdered individual with the killer and his associates. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day with her companions, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being murdered by her romantic interest Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has frequently been hospitalised for fits of anger.
Fascination and Incompletion
Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and audacious rule-breaking wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who gains dimension partly through Catt's identification with her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual derailing in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels curiously unresolved, to the point that her narrative ends almost mid-par
