The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with individuals chasing after new beginnings, trying to break free from addictions or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into violence. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", rendering it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Examples include "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the text. And yet, she is embarking on her individual reinvention, as this appears a novel form of writing – documentarian, authentically narrative. However it reveals itself to be packed with the recurring issues and approaches as earlier books.
From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work
The writer was originally an visual artist who entered the literary world almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, which was composed of letters to an unreceptive lover, elevating intimate women's literature from self-debasement into defiance. She continued writing, but the three subsequent compelling and abrasive novels did not possess the power and directness that the letter form infused into the voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a maverick maker who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was much discussion on housing investments. It follows that she currently desires to experiment with different types of content, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a time when she asserts that Trumpian politics turns intimate literature obsolete.
Three Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, encompassing multiple eras – none able to break free from their histories. We encounter the story of Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, relocating from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. There is the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. And there is the account of a killing of one directionless individual by another in a locality largely deserted by forward-thinking policies only a short distance from Catt's rural residence in the Minnesota countryside.
From my perspective as a reader fond of refined literature of the sort the author herself typically rejects, I was enchanted by the narrative style of the first section.
Being a reader drawn to crafted language of the style that Kraus often disregards, I was seduced by the literary tone of the opening segment. It exhibits a fresh level of observation that allows space for small details, like the container that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the opening of the book, helped by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". She tells Emma's narrative with curiosity and intimacy. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not entirely her own."
Frustration and Disruption
I was fated to feel let down when I hoped this new voice could persist to the end. The author states here that she dislikes the pleasure audiences such as myself have taken from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her idol author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels reasserts itself in the second segment. Catt is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between the Midwest and the West Coast, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She is overwhelmed as Paul moves between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a environment fueled by the hostility and dread that powers a political win. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her listed profession modified from "novelist" to "landlord" on a reference site. Kraus still seems 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 may grasp something about an the nation that her social media opponents would be unable to grasp, would not even perceive".
The Murder Narrative
So then we come to the homicide in question – and the titular day passed by the murdered individual with the murderer and his associates. The author possesses 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 seems affably to have spent the day with her companions, loitering having his vehicle repaired and paying for snacks and drugs, before being shot by her romantic interest a man named Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has often been institutionalized for aggressive outbursts.
Fascination and Incompletion
Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards responsible documentation and daring boundary-pushing tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is the character Brittney, who comes alive partially because of Catt seeing herself in her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual derailing in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus notes that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
