This latest work centers on individuals pursuing new beginnings, attempting to leave behind drugs or abusive marriages, only to find hope curdling into aggression. Chris Kraus often employs the phrase "fresh start", rendering it intentionally weary through recurring use. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the text. Meanwhile, Kraus herself seems to be making her own fresh start, because this seems a new kind of book – observational, truly literary. However it reveals itself to be laden with the same dilemmas and styles as her previous works.
From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work
Chris Kraus was originally an creative who became a writer unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, converting intimate women's literature from abjection into assassination. She kept producing books, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels did not possess the impact and rawness that the correspondence format infused into the voice 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 considerable focus on property transactions. It follows that she now wants to experiment with new kinds of material, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a time when she states that contemporary political climate turns intimate literature obsolete.
Three Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning several time periods – none able to break free from their backgrounds. The book includes the tale of a couple named Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, relocating from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. Then there is the narrative of the author, in the guise of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a locality mostly forsaken by progressive politics only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.
For this reader drawn to polished prose of the sort the author herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening part.
As a reader who appreciates precise prose of the kind that Kraus tends to eschew, I was won over by the literary tone of the opening segment. It possesses a novel degree of detail that allows space for trivial aspects, like the bucket that the youthful Catt pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, aided by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he replies, "the nuanced interpretations of terms tumbling in their mouths like sweet treats". She tells Emma's narrative with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."
Disappointment and Disjunction
I was fated to feel let down when I expected this fresh tone could last out the book. The author states here that she dislikes the satisfaction audiences such as myself have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, 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 is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in the city's most challenging districts while moving between two different states, failing to help Paul control his drinking. She is overwhelmed as Paul moves between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a world fueled by the anger and fear that powers an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her occupation changed from "writer" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she states that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an America that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would not even see".
The Homicide Account
So then we come to the actual killing – and the titular day passed by the murdered individual with the murderer and his associates. The author possesses compelling foundational content, and knows hour by hour what happened when the victim Brandon came to meet Brittney after encountering her on a platform 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 getting his car mended and funding treats and narcotics, before being murdered by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has frequently been hospitalised for violent rage.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
The protagonist becomes fixated by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and daring boundary-pushing wrestle in this part. Yet I wished her to go further into her individual preoccupations here. The most interesting character is Brittney, who comes alive partly through the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the extent that her narrative ends almost mid-par
