The Four Spent the Day Together centers on characters seeking new beginnings, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into conflict. Kraus often employs the phrase "new beginning", rendering it intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Sentences like "He aimed to start over" and "They decided to make a fresh start" appear throughout the text. And yet, the author herself is embarking on her own fresh start, since this seems a different type of work – fact-based, truly literary. Yet it turns out to be laden with the same dilemmas and approaches as her previous works.
From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book
The writer started out as an visual artist who became a writer somewhat by chance with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, structured as letters to an unreceptive lover, elevating intimate women's literature from self-debasement into defiance. She persisted as a writer, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels missed the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format brought to the voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a extensive real estate holder, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It makes sense that she presently aims to experiment with fresh narrative sources, directing her gaze to other people's stories, at a time when she claims that Trumpian politics turns intimate literature redundant.
Several Eras, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning multiple eras – each trapped by their histories. The book includes the story of Emma and Jasper, representations of her own mother and father, relocating from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, 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. And there is the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a locality long abandoned by liberal ideals only a short distance from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.
As a reader attracted to refined literature of the sort Kraus tends to eschew, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the opening part.
Being a reader drawn to honed writing of the style that Kraus usually avoids, I was won over by the literary tone of the initial part. It possesses a fresh level of observation that makes room for small details, like the container that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, helped by her beloved father. "I found an ice toy!" she declares; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."
Frustration and Disruption
I was fated to feel let down when I wished this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she dislikes the satisfaction audiences such as myself have taken from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her hero Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels comes back in the second segment. The protagonist is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in the city's most challenging districts while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unsuccessful in assisting her husband control his drinking. She feels helpless as Paul moves between underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a environment driven by the rage and anxiety that drives a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about the protagonist facing cancellation on social media, her professional designation altered from "writer" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would not even perceive".
The Murder Narrative
So then we come to the actual killing – and the titular day passed by the victim with the killer and his associates. Kraus utilizes great source material, and knows hour by hour what happened when a man named Brandon came to visit Brittney after meeting her on an app where she sold sex pictures. He was hoping for sex but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, loitering having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by her romantic interest a man named Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing 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 – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman spiraling out of control in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus notes that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the extent that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
