The Four Spent the Day Together by Chris Kraus – An Iconic Writer Attempts Fresh Territory

The Four Spent the Day Together features individuals chasing after fresh starts, trying to break free from addictions or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. The author frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", making it willfully cynical through constant reiteration. Sentences like "He aimed to start over" and "They chose to begin anew" are scattered across the narrative. And yet, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, as this appears a different type of work – observational, authentically narrative. However it reveals itself to be packed with the same dilemmas and styles as earlier books.

From Unplanned Author to Iconic Work

Chris Kraus was originally an visual artist who entered the literary world unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, converting intimate women's literature from self-debasement into assassination. She persisted as a writer, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels missed the power and directness that the letter form infused into the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It is logical that she currently desires to explore new kinds of material, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a moment when she claims that current political era makes confessional writing unnecessary.

Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering three generations – each trapped by their histories. The book includes the narrative about Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, moving from the New York borough to rural Connecticut. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of a figure named Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband Paul. The third thread involves the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a locality largely deserted by liberal ideals only a short distance from Catt's rural residence in a remote part of Minnesota.

As a reader fond of polished prose of the sort Kraus herself often avoids, I was enchanted by the novelistic voice of the opening part.

As someone who reads who favors precise prose of the variety that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the initial part. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that allows space for small details, like the container that the protagonist as a child pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, assisted by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she declares; "a nice toy", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words circulating in their speech like sweet treats". Kraus writes Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not entirely her own."

Frustration and Disruption

I was fated to feel let down when I hoped this different style could persist to the end. Kraus notes here that she dislikes the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's devoted to fragmentation, to the messy artistic approach she shares with her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her previous novels comes back in the middle section. Catt is trying to renovate multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between two different states, unsuccessful in assisting her husband manage his alcohol use. She is overwhelmed as Paul moves between underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a world driven by the anger and fear that powers an electoral success. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt's social media ostracism on Twitter, her occupation changed from "author" to "landlord" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she remarks that she's looking into the killing so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her Twitter detractors would be unable to grasp, would overlook entirely".

The Killing Story

Then we reach to the homicide in question – and the titular day spent by the murdered individual with the murderer and his associates. Kraus has excellent raw material, and reconstructs step by step what transpired when Brandon came to visit Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He anticipated intimacy but seems amiably to have occupied the day alongside her friends, mooching around getting his car mended and paying for snacks and drugs, before being shot by her romantic interest Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.

Fascination and Incompletion

The protagonist becomes fixated by the narrative, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and audacious rule-breaking clash in this segment. But I'd have liked her to explore more thoroughly her own obsessions here. The standout figure is Brittney, who gains dimension partly through Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman spiraling out of control in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in jail, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the extent that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par