The Four Spent the Day Together centers on protagonists seeking clean slates, trying to break free from substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into violence. Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "fresh start", making it intentionally weary through recurring use. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the text. At the same time, the author herself is embarking on her own fresh start, since this presents as a novel form of writing – documentarian, genuinely novelistic. But then it reveals itself to be packed with the recurring issues and approaches as past novels.
From Accidental Writer to Renowned Book
The writer started out as an visual artist who entered the literary world somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, structured as missives to a distant beloved, elevating personal female narrative from self-debasement into assassination. She kept producing books, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels missed the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format infused into the narrative voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her position as a maverick maker who had evolved into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It follows that she now wants to try out new kinds of material, turning outward to external narratives, at a moment when she asserts that current political era makes confessional writing obsolete.
Multiple Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background
The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning three generations – all unable to escape their backgrounds. The book includes the tale of Emma and Jasper, representations of her own mother and father, moving from the Bronx to rural Connecticut. There is the account of Kraus, in the guise of Catt Greene, grappling with 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 lost young man by another in a locality largely deserted by progressive politics only 80 miles from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.
From my perspective as a reader attracted to polished prose of the kind the author herself typically rejects, I was enchanted by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.
As a reader who favors precise prose of the variety that Kraus often disregards, I was captivated by the storytelling approach of the first section. There is a new quality of attentiveness that accommodates minutiae, like the bucket that the young Catt dislodges from ice at the start of the story, helped by her cherished parent. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he replies, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like hard candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not entirely her own."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was fated to feel let down when I wished this different style could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she resents the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disjunction, to the unpolished style she shares with her hero writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works reasserts itself in the second segment. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid her husband curb his addiction. She experiences powerlessness as Paul moves between poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a society driven by the rage and anxiety that underpins an electoral success. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her professional designation altered from "novelist" to "property owner" on Wikipedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her Twitter detractors would not understand, would overlook entirely".
The Murder Narrative
Thus we arrive to the homicide in question – and the titular day spent by the murdered individual with the murderer and his friends. Kraus has excellent raw material, and knows hour by hour what happened when a man named Brandon came to visit Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He was hoping for sex but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, wandering about fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by her romantic interest a man named Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing tussle in this section. But I'd have liked her to delve deeper into her own obsessions here. The most interesting character is Brittney, who gains dimension in part due to the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the extent that her narrative ends almost mid-par
