The new book features protagonists chasing after clean slates, trying to break free from drugs or toxic relationships, only to find hope curdling into conflict. The author often employs the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into deliberately jaded through its repetitions. Sentences like "He could make a fresh start" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the text. And yet, she is embarking on her personal new beginning, because this appears a new kind of book – observational, genuinely novelistic. But then it proves to be packed with the same dilemmas and styles as her previous works.
From Chance Novelist to Iconic Work
Kraus began as an creative who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, elevating intimate women's literature from self-debasement into assassination. She persisted as a writer, but the following three fascinating and rebarbative novels missed the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format infused into the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her role as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a extensive real estate holder, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It is logical that she presently aims to try out new kinds of material, directing her gaze to other people's stories, at a time when she states that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing unnecessary.
Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning several time periods – all unable to escape their pasts. We encounter the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, relocating from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. There is 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. And there is the story of the murder of one lost young man by another in a community mostly forsaken by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.
As a reader fond of refined literature of the type the author herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the literary tone of the opening part.
Being a reader who appreciates crafted language of the style that the author tends to eschew, I was won over by the literary tone of the opening segment. There is a fresh level of observation that makes room for small details, like the container that the protagonist as a child dislodges from ice at the beginning of the narrative, assisted by her cherished parent. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words circulating in their speech like sweet treats". Kraus writes Emma's story with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."
Disappointment and Disjunction
I was bound to become frustrated when I hoped this new voice could persist to the end. Kraus says here that she is annoyed by the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's committed to disjunction, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her hero author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works comes back in the middle section. Catt is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while moving between Minnesota and LA, unsuccessful in assisting Paul control his drinking. She feels helpless as her spouse transitions between poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a world driven by the anger and fear that drives an electoral success. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on social media, her listed profession modified from "novelist" to "property owner" on a reference site. The author still appears to invest excessive emotion about this. On one occasion she states that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her Twitter detractors would be unable to grasp, would not even perceive".
The Homicide Account
Then we reach to the homicide in question – and the titular day spent by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his friends. Kraus has great source material, and details moment by moment what occurred as Brandon came to meet Brittney after meeting her on an app where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day alongside her friends, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and paying for snacks and drugs, before being shot by Brittney's boyfriend a man named Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt develops an obsession by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. But I'd have liked her to delve deeper into her own obsessions here. The compelling persona is Brittney, who comes alive partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual spiraling out of control in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. This entire part feels curiously unresolved, to the extent that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
