This latest work is populated with protagonists seeking clean slates, attempting to leave behind addictions or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. The author frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", making it intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They decided to make a fresh start" recur in the narrative. Meanwhile, the author herself is embarking on her own fresh start, since this presents as a novel form of writing – observational, authentically narrative. Yet it reveals itself to be laden with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as her previous works.
From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work
Kraus started out as an artist who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of letters to an unreceptive lover, converting personal female narrative from abjection into defiance. She continued writing, but the next trio of engaging and challenging novels did not possess the power and directness that the epistolary style imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her role as a maverick maker who had turned into a extensive real estate holder, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It makes sense that she presently aims to explore new kinds of material, turning outward to other people's stories, at a moment when she asserts that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative unnecessary.
Several Eras, Collective Unavoidable Background
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning multiple eras – all unable to escape their pasts. The book includes the narrative about a couple named Emma and Jasper, representations of the author's parents, transitioning from the urban environment to a pastoral setting. Then there is the account of Kraus, in the character of Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her addict husband a man named Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one troubled youth by another in a community long abandoned by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.
From my perspective as a reader fond of honed writing of the sort Kraus herself typically rejects, I was enchanted by the novelistic voice of the opening part.
Being a reader who favors honed writing of the style that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the literary tone of the opening segment. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that accommodates small details, like the pail that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the opening of the book, helped by her cherished parent. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he replies, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". Kraus writes Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not entirely her own."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was bound to become frustrated when I expected this different style could persist to the end. Kraus notes here that she resents the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disjunction, to the unpolished style she echoes from her hero Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her past books returns in the second segment. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing 36 run-down apartments in the city's most challenging districts while shuttling between two different states, unable to aid Paul curb his addiction. She feels helpless as her spouse moves between poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a world driven by the anger and fear that underpins a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about the protagonist facing cancellation on social media, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she states that she's looking into the killing so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her Twitter detractors would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".
The Murder Narrative
Then we reach to the murder itself – and the referenced day spent by the deceased with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus has great source material, and details moment by moment what occurred as a man named Brandon came to visit Brittney after meeting her on an app where she offered adult photos. He anticipated intimacy but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, mooching around having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being murdered by her romantic interest Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has often been institutionalized for fits of anger.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her individual preoccupations here. The compelling persona is the character Brittney, who comes alive partially because of Catt's identification with her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual spiraling out of control in a struggling, neglected community. The author informs us that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the extent that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
