The Four Spent the Day Together centers on protagonists pursuing fresh starts, attempting to leave behind addictions or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into violence. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into willfully cynical through its repetitions. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the story. Meanwhile, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, because this seems a new kind of book – fact-based, truly literary. Yet it turns out to be packed with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as earlier books.
From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic
Chris Kraus began as an artist who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, which was composed of letters to an unreceptive lover, converting personal female narrative from self-debasement into assassination. She kept producing books, but the next trio of engaging and challenging novels missed the impact and rawness that the correspondence format imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her position as a maverick maker who had turned into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It follows that she presently aims to explore different types of content, directing her gaze to other people's stories, at a moment when she states that current political era renders personal narrative obsolete.
Multiple Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, encompassing multiple eras – all unable to escape their backgrounds. The book includes the story of Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, relocating from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the character of Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. The third thread involves the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a locality long abandoned by liberal ideals only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.
From my perspective as a reader drawn to honed writing of the kind Kraus herself often avoids, I was seduced by the narrative style of the initial segment.
As a reader who appreciates precise prose of the style that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the first section. There is a new quality of attentiveness that accommodates trivial aspects, like the bucket that the young Catt dislodges from ice at the opening of the book, helped by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she says; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like hard candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with inquiry and familiarity. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not precisely her dream."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was fated to feel let down when I expected this new voice could last out the book. Kraus says here that she resents the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the unpolished style she has in common with her idol author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books comes back in the middle section. The protagonist is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while traveling between two different states, failing to help her husband manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as Paul moves between low-resource employment as an substance abuse counselor in a society propelled by the rage and anxiety that powers a political win. There are several pages about Catt's social media ostracism on Twitter, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "landlord" on a reference site. The author still appears to care a little too much about this. In a moment she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an the nation that her Twitter detractors would not understand, would not even see".
The Murder Narrative
So then we come to the actual killing – and the titular day experienced by the deceased with the perpetrator and his friends. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and knows hour by hour what transpired when Brandon came to visit Brittney after meeting her on an app where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day alongside her friends, mooching around getting his car mended and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's partner Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for fits of anger.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking wrestle in this part. Yet I wished her to go further into her individual preoccupations 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 speaks to Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
