The Four Spent the Day Together centers on protagonists seeking fresh starts, trying to break free from substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into violence. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "new beginning", making it willfully cynical through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They chose to begin anew" are scattered across the text. At the same time, the author herself appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, since this seems a new kind of book – observational, truly literary. However it turns out to be packed with the same dilemmas and approaches as earlier books.
From Accidental Writer to Renowned Book
The writer started out as an creative who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, elevating personal female narrative from abjection into defiance. She continued writing, but the three subsequent compelling and abrasive novels missed the impact and rawness that the letter form imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a maverick maker who had become a extensive real estate holder, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It is logical that she now wants to experiment with new kinds of material, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a time when she claims that current political era makes confessional writing unnecessary.
Several Eras, Collective Unavoidable Background
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning several time periods – none able to break free from their histories. The book includes the narrative about a couple named Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, relocating from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. There is the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one directionless individual by another in a community long abandoned by progressive politics only a short distance from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.
As a reader attracted to polished prose of the type Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the narrative style of the initial segment.
Being a reader who favors crafted language of the variety that Kraus herself often disregards, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that accommodates small details, like the bucket that the young Catt frees from the ice at the start of the story, helped by her beloved father. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms tumbling in their mouths like sweet treats". She tells the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."
Frustration and Disruption
I was destined to be disappointed when I expected this different style could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she resents the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to disjunction, to the messy artistic approach she shares with her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books comes back in the middle section. Catt Greene is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the city's most challenging districts while moving between the Midwest and the West Coast, unsuccessful in assisting her husband manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as her spouse cycles through underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a environment driven by the anger and fear that drives a political win. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on social media, her professional designation altered from "writer" to "real estate holder" on a reference site. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. At one point she says that she's researching the homicide so that before exiting the region, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would not even perceive".
The Homicide Account
Then we reach to the actual killing – and the eponymous day passed by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus utilizes great source material, and reconstructs step by step 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 in the company of her associates, mooching around getting his car mended and covering the cost of food and substances, before being murdered by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt develops an obsession by the account, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and daring boundary-pushing tussle in this section. But I'd have liked her to go further into her own obsessions here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who comes alive partly through Catt seeing herself in her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus notes that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels curiously unresolved, to the extent that her narrative ends almost mid-par
