The Four Spent the Day Together from author Chris Kraus – A Renowned Writer Attempts New Ground

The new book is populated with protagonists chasing after new beginnings, trying to break free from substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. Kraus often employs the phrase "clean slate", rendering it deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They decided to make a fresh start" appear throughout the story. At the same time, she seems to be making her individual reinvention, because this presents as a novel form of writing – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. Yet it proves to be packed with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as past novels.

From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work

Kraus was originally an artist who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, structured as epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming confessional female writing from self-debasement into defiance. She kept producing books, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels missed the impact and rawness that the epistolary style brought to the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her role as a renegade artist who had turned into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It makes sense that she presently aims to try out new kinds of material, turning outward to external narratives, at a moment when she states that Trumpian politics turns intimate literature obsolete.

Several Eras, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning multiple eras – all unable to escape their histories. We encounter the tale of Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, relocating from the Bronx to the Connecticut countryside. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the guise of a figure named Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her addict husband Paul. And there is the account of a killing of one directionless individual by another in a community long abandoned by liberal ideals only a brief drive from Catt's cottage in a remote part of Minnesota.

As a reader drawn to polished prose of the kind Kraus often avoids, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the first section.

As someone who reads who appreciates honed writing of the kind that the author often disregards, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. There is a fresh level of observation that makes room for trivial aspects, like the container that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the start of the story, assisted by her cherished parent. "Look, an ice toy!" she declares; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the ambiguous meanings of language circulating in their speech like hard candy". She tells the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."

Frustration and Disruption

I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this new voice could persist to the end. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels comes back in the middle section. Catt Greene is trying to renovate multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between Minnesota and LA, unsuccessful in assisting her husband manage his alcohol use. She is overwhelmed as Paul cycles through underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a society driven by the hostility and dread that powers an electoral success. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on social media, her professional designation altered from "author" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. At one point she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her social media opponents would be unable to grasp, would not even perceive".

The Homicide Account

Then we reach to the homicide in question – and the titular day passed by the victim with the murderer and his companions. Kraus has great source material, and knows hour by hour what happened when a man named Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He was hoping for sex but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, mooching around fixing his automobile and funding treats and narcotics, before being murdered by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has often been institutionalized for fits of anger.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt develops an obsession by the account, and I was intrigued by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her personal fixations here. The compelling persona is Brittney herself, who comes alive partly through the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus notes that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. This entire part feels curiously unresolved, to the extent that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par