The Four Spent the Day Together from Chris Kraus – A Cult Writer Explores Fresh Territory

The new book is populated with protagonists chasing after 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", making it willfully cynical through its repetitions. Examples include "He could make a fresh start" and "They decided to make a fresh start" are scattered across the narrative. At the same time, the author herself seems to be making her own fresh start, because this seems a different type of work – documentarian, truly literary. However it proves to be laden with the same dilemmas and approaches as her previous works.

From Accidental Writer to Renowned Book

Kraus began as an visual artist who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming confessional female writing from humiliation into defiance. She continued writing, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels did not possess the power and directness that the letter form brought to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a renegade artist who had turned into a extensive real estate holder, so there was considerable focus on property transactions. It is logical that she presently aims to experiment with new kinds of material, directing her gaze to other people's stories, at a moment when she asserts that Trumpian politics makes confessional writing redundant.

Multiple Generations, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning several time periods – each trapped by their histories. There is the story of Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, relocating from the Bronx to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of Catt Greene, reckoning with the belated success of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse her husband Paul. The third thread involves the story of the murder of one troubled youth by another in a town mostly forsaken by progressive politics only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in rural Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader drawn to refined literature of the sort the author herself typically rejects, I was captivated by the narrative style of the first section.

Being a reader drawn to crafted language of the style that the author tends to eschew, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the first section. There is a fresh level of observation that allows space for minutiae, like the container that the protagonist as a child pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, aided by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she declares; "a great plaything", he replies, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". Kraus writes Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was fated to feel let down when I expected this fresh tone could continue through the novel. The author states here that she resents the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her past books comes back in the second segment. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while traveling between Minnesota and LA, unable to aid Paul curb his addiction. She feels helpless as Paul transitions between poorly supported positions as an recovery specialist in a environment fueled by the anger and fear that powers Trump's victory. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her occupation changed from "writer" to "landlord" on a reference site. Kraus still seems to care a little too much about this. At one point she states that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her Twitter detractors would not understand, would not even see".

The Killing Story

Then we reach to the actual killing – and the eponymous day spent by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his associates. Kraus has great source material, and knows hour by hour what transpired when Brandon came to meet Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but seems affably to have spent the day alongside her friends, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by Brittney's partner Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has frequently been hospitalised for violent rage.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and reckless transgression tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her individual preoccupations here. The most interesting character is Brittney, who becomes vivid partially because of Catt seeing herself in her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels curiously unresolved, to the extent that her narrative ends almost mid-par