This latest work is populated with individuals seeking new beginnings, trying to break free from drugs or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. The author frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", rendering it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Sentences like "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the text. At the same time, the author herself appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, since this seems a different type of work – documentarian, authentically narrative. Yet it reveals itself to be laden with the recurring issues and aesthetics as earlier books.
From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic
The writer began as an visual artist who entered the literary world somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, structured as epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming intimate women's literature from humiliation into assassination. She persisted as a writer, but the following three fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the power and directness that the epistolary style infused into the voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a renegade artist who had become a major property owner, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It makes sense that she currently desires to explore different types of content, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a moment when she states that current political era renders personal narrative unnecessary.
Several Eras, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering three generations – each trapped by their backgrounds. We encounter the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, versions of her own mother and father, relocating from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the narrative of the author, in the persona of a figure named Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her addict husband a man named Paul. And there is the account of a killing of one lost young man by another in a town mostly forsaken by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.
For this reader attracted to polished prose of the kind Kraus herself often avoids, I was captivated by the narrative style of the initial segment.
As a reader who appreciates honed writing of the variety that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was won over by the storytelling approach of the initial part. It possesses a novel degree of detail that makes room for small details, like the pail that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the opening of the book, aided by her adored dad. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words circulating in their speech like sweet treats". Kraus writes Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was destined to be disappointed when I hoped this new voice could continue through the novel. The author states here that she dislikes the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her hero Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her earlier works returns in the second segment. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the city's most challenging districts while shuttling between two different states, unable to aid her husband manage his alcohol use. She is overwhelmed as her spouse moves between low-resource employment as an recovery specialist in a society fueled by the anger and fear that drives a political win. There are several pages about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her occupation changed from "author" to "landlord" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she says that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her social media opponents would be unable to grasp, would overlook entirely".
The Murder Narrative
Then we reach to the murder itself – and the referenced day passed by the murdered individual with the killer and his associates. The author possesses great source material, and reconstructs step by step what happened when a man named Brandon came to meet Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she sold sex pictures. He anticipated intimacy but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, loitering having his vehicle repaired and paying for snacks and drugs, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's partner Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has often been institutionalized for violent rage.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
The protagonist becomes fixated by the account, and I was intrigued by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid in part due to Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a difficult, overlooked locality. The author informs us that Catt converses with Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
