The new book centers on protagonists pursuing new beginnings, struggling to escape addictions or toxic relationships, only to see hope turn into violence. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", rendering it deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Examples include "He could make a fresh start" and "They chose to begin anew" are scattered across the story. And yet, the author herself appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, since this presents as a different type of work – documentarian, truly literary. But then it proves to be packed with the recurring issues and approaches as her previous works.
From Accidental Writer to Renowned Book
Chris Kraus started out as an artist who became a writer almost accidentally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, converting confessional female writing from abjection into assassination. She persisted as a writer, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the impact and rawness that the epistolary style brought to the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a maverick maker who had become a extensive real estate holder, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It follows that she presently aims to experiment with different types of content, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a moment when she states that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing unnecessary.
Several Eras, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering several time periods – none able to break free from their histories. The book includes the tale of characters Emma and Jasper, representations of her own mother and father, transitioning from the urban environment to a pastoral setting. Additionally the narrative of the author, in the guise of a figure named Catt Greene, reckoning with the belated success of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction her husband Paul. The third thread involves the account of a killing of one lost young man by another in a town mostly forsaken by liberal ideals only a short distance from Catt's rural residence in rural Minnesota.
For this reader drawn to refined literature of the kind Kraus typically rejects, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the first section.
As a reader who appreciates crafted language of the variety that the author tends to eschew, I was won over by the storytelling approach of the initial part. There is a new quality of attentiveness that makes room for trivial aspects, like the pail that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the opening of the book, assisted by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – 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 says here that she dislikes the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disjunction, to the untidy aesthetics she echoes from her hero Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works comes back in the second segment. Catt Greene is attempting to do up 36 run-down apartments in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while traveling between two different states, unsuccessful in assisting Paul curb his addiction. She is overwhelmed as Paul moves between low-resource employment as an recovery specialist in a world fueled by the hostility and dread that drives a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt's social media ostracism on Twitter, her occupation changed from "author" to "property owner" on a reference site. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she says that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her online critics would not understand, would overlook entirely".
The Killing Story
Thus we arrive to the homicide in question – and the referenced day passed by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his associates. The author possesses excellent raw material, and knows hour by hour what occurred as Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, wandering about fixing his automobile and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's partner Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.
Obsession and Unfinished Business
Catt gets obsessed by the narrative, and I was intrigued by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards accurate chronicling and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. Yet I wished her to go further into her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who gains dimension 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. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
