The Four Spent the Day Together centers on individuals seeking fresh starts, attempting to leave behind drugs or toxic relationships, only to see hope turn into violence. The author often employs the phrase "fresh start", transforming it into deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the story. At the same time, the author herself is embarking on her personal new beginning, as this seems a novel form of writing – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. But then it proves to be packed with the familiar conflicts and styles as past novels.
From Chance Novelist to Iconic Work
The writer began as an creative who became a writer unintentionally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, converting personal female narrative from self-debasement into assassination. She kept producing books, but the next trio of engaging and challenging novels lacked the power and directness that the epistolary style infused into the voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her position as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on property transactions. It makes sense that she currently desires to explore new kinds of material, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a moment when she states that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative redundant.
Several Eras, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, spanning multiple eras – none able to break free from their histories. The book includes the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, moving from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. Then there is the account of Kraus, in the guise of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband a man named Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a town largely deserted by progressive politics only a short distance from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.
As a reader fond of refined literature of the sort Kraus herself often avoids, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the opening part.
Being a reader who favors crafted language of the kind that Kraus usually avoids, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the initial part. It possesses a fresh level of observation that allows space for small details, like the pail that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, aided by her beloved father. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he replies, "the ambiguous meanings of language tumbling in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates Emma's story with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not precisely her dream."
Frustration and Disruption
I was destined to be disappointed when I expected this different style could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she dislikes the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she shares with her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her earlier works reasserts itself in the central part. The protagonist is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while moving between Minnesota and LA, failing to help Paul manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as Paul transitions between poorly supported positions as an addiction therapist in a environment driven by the anger and fear that underpins an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on social media, her professional designation altered from "novelist" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to invest excessive emotion about this. At one point she says that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her social media opponents would not understand, would overlook entirely".
The Killing Story
So then we come to the actual killing – and the eponymous day passed by the murdered individual with the killer and his friends. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as Brandon came to visit Brittney after meeting her on an app where she offered adult photos. He anticipated intimacy but appears congenially to have passed the day with her companions, mooching around getting his car mended and covering the cost of food and substances, before being shot by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to go further into her individual preoccupations here. The compelling persona is the character Brittney, who comes alive in part due to the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a troubled, forgotten town. The author informs us that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
