This latest work is populated with individuals seeking clean slates, attempting to leave behind addictions or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into conflict. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", rendering it willfully cynical through constant reiteration. Examples include "He could make a fresh start" and "They decided to make a fresh start" recur in the narrative. And yet, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, as this presents as a new kind of book – documentarian, truly literary. But then it reveals itself to be filled with the recurring issues and styles as past novels.
From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic
The writer started out as an creative who entered the literary world unintentionally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, elevating confessional female writing from self-debasement into assassination. She kept producing books, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the impact and rawness that the epistolary style brought to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a maverick maker who had become a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It is logical that she currently desires to explore different types of content, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a period in which she claims that current political era turns intimate literature unnecessary.
Several Eras, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning multiple eras – none able to break free from their backgrounds. We encounter the tale of characters Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, relocating from the New York borough to rural Connecticut. Then there is the narrative of the author, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. The third thread involves the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a town long abandoned by liberal ideals only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in a remote part of Minnesota.
As a reader drawn to honed writing of the sort Kraus tends to eschew, I was enchanted by the narrative style of the opening part.
Being a reader who appreciates honed writing of the variety that Kraus often disregards, I was seduced by the literary tone of the initial part. It possesses a fresh level of observation that makes room for minutiae, like the container that the protagonist as a child pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, aided by her beloved father. "I found 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 curiosity and intimacy. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."
Frustration and Disruption
I was fated to feel let down when I wished this different style could continue through the novel. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her past books reasserts itself in the second segment. Catt is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between two different states, unable to aid Paul control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as Paul cycles through poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a world propelled by the rage and anxiety that drives an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on social media, her occupation changed from "writer" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. She still gives the impression to invest excessive emotion about this. On one occasion she says that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an the nation that her social media opponents would not understand, would not even perceive".
The Homicide Account
Then we reach to the homicide in question – and the titular day experienced by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his friends. The author possesses great source material, and knows hour by hour what transpired when a man named Brandon came to meet Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but appears congenially to have passed the day alongside her friends, mooching around fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Fascination and Incompletion
Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing tussle in this section. Yet I wished her to delve deeper into her own obsessions here. The compelling persona is Brittney herself, who gains dimension partly through Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. The author informs us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in jail, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The whole section feels curiously unresolved, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
