🔗 Share this article

The Four Spent the Day Together centers on individuals pursuing fresh starts, struggling to escape drugs or abusive marriages, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "fresh start", rendering it intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They decided to make a fresh start" are scattered across the narrative. And yet, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, since this appears a new kind of book – documentarian, truly literary. But then it reveals itself to be filled with the familiar conflicts and approaches as past novels.

From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic

Kraus was originally an artist who entered the literary world somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, converting intimate women's literature from humiliation into defiance. She persisted as a writer, but the next trio of engaging and challenging novels lacked the shock and immediacy that the letter form imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her identity as a maverick maker who had turned into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on real estate deals. It makes sense that she presently aims to experiment with new kinds of material, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a time when she claims that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative unnecessary.

Multiple Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning several time periods – all unable to escape their backgrounds. There is the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, based on Kraus's parents, moving from the New York borough to rural Connecticut. There is the narrative of the author, in the persona of Catt Greene, reckoning with the belated success of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction her husband Paul. And there is the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a community long abandoned by progressive politics only 80 miles from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.

As a reader fond of honed writing of the sort Kraus often avoids, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening part.

As a reader drawn to honed writing of the style that Kraus often disregards, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the first section. It exhibits a fresh level of observation that makes room for small details, like the bucket that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, assisted by her cherished parent. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like hard candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was fated to feel let down when I wished this new voice could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the satisfaction audiences such as myself have gotten from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disruption, to the unpolished style she shares with her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels returns in the second segment. Catt Greene is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unsuccessful in assisting Paul control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as Paul transitions between low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a environment propelled by the hostility and dread that drives Trump's victory. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on social media, her professional designation altered from "author" to "landlord" on a reference site. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she says that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States 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 victim with the perpetrator and his associates. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and details moment by moment what transpired when Brandon came to visit Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but seems affably to have spent the day alongside her friends, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by her romantic interest Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for fits of anger.

Fascination and Incompletion

Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I was intrigued by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her own obsessions here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid partially because of Catt seeing herself in her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus notes that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in jail, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the extent that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par