The new book features protagonists seeking clean slates, trying to break free from substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into conflict. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "clean slate", making it intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Sentences like "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the text. Meanwhile, she seems to be making her personal new beginning, since this seems a different type of work – documentarian, authentically narrative. But then it turns out to be filled with the familiar conflicts and aesthetics as her previous works.
From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic
Chris Kraus was originally an creative who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, elevating personal female narrative from self-debasement into defiance. She kept producing books, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels did not possess the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format brought to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a maverick maker who had evolved into a extensive real estate holder, so there was much discussion on property transactions. It makes sense that she presently aims to try out new kinds of material, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a period in which she claims that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative obsolete.
Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, spanning several time periods – each trapped by their pasts. We encounter the tale of characters Emma and Jasper, representations of her own mother and father, transitioning from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. There is the narrative of the author, in the persona of Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband a man named Paul. The third thread involves the narrative of a homicide of one troubled youth by another in a community largely deserted by progressive politics only a short distance from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.
As a reader drawn to polished prose of the sort Kraus herself typically rejects, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the opening part.
As a reader who favors precise prose of the style that the author often disregards, I was won over by the literary tone of the opening segment. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that allows space for trivial aspects, like the bucket that the young Catt frees from the ice at the beginning of the narrative, aided by her cherished parent. "I found an ice toy!" she declares; "a nice toy", he answers, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this new voice could last out the book. Kraus says here that she is annoyed by the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disruption, to the unpolished style she shares with her hero Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books returns in the second segment. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the city's most challenging districts while traveling between Minnesota and LA, unable to aid Paul manage his alcohol use. She is overwhelmed as Paul transitions between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a world driven by the rage and anxiety that powers a political win. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her occupation changed from "author" to "property owner" on a reference site. The author still appears to invest excessive emotion about this. On one occasion she says that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she could potentially understand something about an the nation that her social media opponents would be unable to grasp, would overlook entirely".
The Homicide Account
So then we come to the homicide in question – and the eponymous day passed by the deceased with the murderer and his companions. The author possesses great source material, and reconstructs step by step 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 affably to have spent the day alongside her friends, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being killed by gunfire by her romantic interest Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Fascination and Incompletion
The protagonist becomes fixated by the account, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing wrestle in this part. But I'd have liked her to delve deeper into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who comes alive in part due to Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the extent that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
