🔗 Share this article

The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with individuals chasing after fresh starts, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to find hope curdling into violence. Kraus often employs the phrase "fresh start", rendering it intentionally weary through recurring use. Sentences like "He aimed to start over" and "They decided to make a fresh start" are scattered across the narrative. Meanwhile, she seems to be making her own fresh start, as this presents as a novel form of writing – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. But then it reveals itself to be packed with the recurring issues and aesthetics as past novels.

From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic

Chris Kraus was originally an visual artist who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, structured as missives to a distant beloved, transforming intimate women's literature from abjection into rebellion. She kept producing books, but the next trio of compelling and abrasive novels lacked the shock and immediacy that the letter form infused into the narrative voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her position as a renegade artist who had become a extensive real estate holder, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It makes sense that she now wants to try out new kinds of material, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a moment when she claims that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing unnecessary.

Three Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering three generations – each trapped by their histories. We encounter the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, relocating from the New York borough to rural Connecticut. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction her husband Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a town long abandoned by progressive politics only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.

For this reader attracted to honed writing of the sort Kraus herself often avoids, I was enchanted by the literary tone of the first section.

As a reader drawn to crafted language of the style that the author often disregards, I was captivated by the literary tone of the initial part. There is a fresh level of observation that makes room for minutiae, like the container that the youthful Catt pries out of frozen water at the beginning of the narrative, aided by her adored dad. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she declares; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the nuanced interpretations of terms circulating in their speech like piece candy". Kraus writes Emma's narrative with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this different style could persist to the end. Kraus says here that she resents the enjoyment audiences such as myself have gotten from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she shares with her hero author Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her earlier works returns in the second segment. The protagonist is attempting to do up 36 run-down apartments in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between two different states, failing to help Paul manage his alcohol use. She feels helpless as Paul moves between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a world driven by the anger and fear that powers a political win. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation on social media, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "real estate holder" on a reference site. She still gives the impression to invest excessive emotion about this. At one point she remarks that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her online critics would be unable to grasp, would overlook entirely".

The Killing Story

Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the titular day experienced by the victim with the murderer and his associates. The author possesses great source material, and knows hour by hour what transpired when Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and paying for snacks and drugs, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has often been institutionalized for aggressive outbursts.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I was fascinated by the way that her twin drives towards accurate chronicling and daring boundary-pushing wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her own obsessions here. The standout figure is Brittney, who gains dimension partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. The author informs us that Catt speaks to Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par