This latest work centers on individuals chasing after clean slates, attempting to leave behind addictions or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. The author often employs the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into intentionally weary through recurring use. Examples include "He could make a fresh start" and "They decided to make a fresh start" appear throughout the narrative. At the same time, Kraus herself is embarking on her personal new beginning, since this presents as a different type of work – observational, authentically narrative. Yet it reveals itself to be packed with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as her previous works.
From Unplanned Author to Renowned Book
Kraus began as an artist who entered the literary world unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, structured as letters to an unreceptive lover, converting confessional female writing from self-debasement into defiance. She continued writing, but the next trio of compelling and abrasive novels did not possess the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It follows that she currently desires to experiment with different types of content, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a moment when she claims that current political era renders personal narrative unnecessary.
Multiple Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, spanning three generations – each trapped by their backgrounds. The book includes the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, transitioning from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse a man named Paul. And there is the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a community mostly forsaken by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from Catt's cottage in a remote part of Minnesota.
For this reader fond of refined literature of the sort Kraus herself typically rejects, I was captivated by the narrative style of the initial segment.
As a reader who favors precise prose of the variety that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was won over by the literary tone of the initial part. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that makes room for small details, like the container that the protagonist as a child dislodges from ice at the start of the story, aided by her beloved father. "Look, an ice toy!" she declares; "a nice toy", he answers, "the ambiguous meanings of language circulating in their speech like sweet treats". She tells 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 expected this different style could persist to the end. Kraus notes here that she dislikes the satisfaction readers like me have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to disjunction, to the unpolished style she echoes from her idol Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books returns in the second segment. Catt is attempting to do up three dozen dilapidated units in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between Minnesota and LA, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She experiences powerlessness as Paul transitions between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a society propelled by the rage and anxiety that powers Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on Twitter, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "landlord" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to care a little too much about this. In a moment she states that she's looking into the killing so that before leaving Minnesota, "she could potentially understand something about an the nation that her Twitter detractors would be unable to grasp, would not even see".
The Killing Story
Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the referenced day passed by the victim with the killer and his friends. Kraus utilizes great source material, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as the victim Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she marketed explicit images. He sought a sexual encounter but seems affably to have spent the day with her companions, mooching around having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's partner Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has often been institutionalized for fits of anger.
Fascination and Incompletion
Catt gets obsessed by the narrative, and I found myself captivated by the way that her twin drives towards responsible documentation and daring boundary-pushing wrestle in this part. Yet I wished her to delve deeper into her own obsessions here. The compelling persona is Brittney herself, who gains dimension partially because of Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman spiraling out of control in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus notes that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
