The Four Spent the Day Together centers on individuals seeking new beginnings, trying to break free from addictions or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into conflict. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "fresh start", transforming it into intentionally weary through recurring use. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the narrative. Meanwhile, she appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, as this appears a novel form of writing – fact-based, authentically narrative. But then it proves to be packed with the same dilemmas and styles as her previous works.
From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic
Kraus began as an creative who entered the literary world somewhat by chance with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of letters to an unreceptive lover, converting personal female narrative from self-debasement into assassination. She continued writing, but the following three engaging and challenging novels did not possess the shock and immediacy that the epistolary style imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her position as a maverick maker who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It is logical that she now wants to try out new kinds of material, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a period in which she asserts that current political era makes confessional writing unnecessary.
Three Generations, One Unescapable Past
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering three generations – all unable to escape their pasts. We encounter the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, relocating from the urban environment to a pastoral setting. Additionally the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of a figure named Catt Greene, confronting the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her addict husband a man named Paul. And there is the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a town mostly forsaken by progressive politics only 80 miles from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.
From my perspective as a reader drawn to refined literature of the sort Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was enchanted by the narrative style of the opening part.
Being a reader who favors honed writing of the style that Kraus herself often disregards, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening segment. There is a fresh level of observation that accommodates small details, like the bucket that the protagonist as a child pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, aided by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she says; "a nice toy", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms tumbling in their mouths like hard candy". Kraus writes Emma's story with interest and closeness. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not hers, exactly."
Letdown and Fragmentation
I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this fresh tone could continue through the novel. The author states here that she dislikes the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, to the untidy aesthetics she echoes from her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works returns in the second segment. The protagonist is trying to renovate three dozen dilapidated units in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid Paul manage his alcohol use. She feels helpless as Paul cycles through underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a society fueled by the hostility and dread that powers Trump's victory. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt being cancelled on social media, her listed profession modified from "novelist" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. She still gives the impression to invest excessive emotion about this. At one point she states that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she may grasp something about an the nation that her social media opponents would fail to comprehend, would not even see".
The Murder Narrative
Then we reach to the actual killing – and the titular day experienced by the murdered individual with the killer and his companions. Kraus utilizes great source material, and details moment by moment what transpired when the victim Brandon came to visit 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, mooching around having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being murdered by Brittney's partner Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for fits of anger.
Fascination and Incompletion
Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that her twin drives towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her own obsessions here. The standout figure is Brittney, who becomes vivid partly through the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl going off the rails in a struggling, neglected community. The author informs us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels curiously unresolved, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par
