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The new book centers on protagonists pursuing clean slates, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", rendering it deliberately jaded through its repetitions. Examples include "He could make a fresh start" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the story. At the same time, she appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, as this seems a different type of work – documentarian, genuinely novelistic. However it proves to be filled with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as earlier books.

From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic

Kraus began as an visual artist who entered the literary world somewhat by chance with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, structured as letters to an unreceptive lover, elevating confessional female writing from abjection into defiance. She continued writing, but the following three engaging and challenging novels missed the shock and immediacy that the letter form imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a renegade artist who had become a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It follows that she presently aims to explore new kinds of material, directing her gaze to other people's stories, at a period in which she asserts that contemporary political climate renders personal narrative redundant.

Several Eras, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning three generations – each trapped by their pasts. We encounter the story of characters Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, relocating from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the narrative of the author, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse Paul. The third thread involves the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a town largely deserted by liberal ideals only 80 miles from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.

As a reader fond of honed writing of the sort the author herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the narrative style of the first section.

As someone who reads who favors crafted language of the style that Kraus often disregards, I was seduced by the literary tone of the initial part. It possesses a fresh level of observation that accommodates trivial aspects, like the bucket that the youthful Catt pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, assisted by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she says; "a great plaything", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like piece candy". Kraus writes the tale of Emma 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 new voice could persist to the end. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disjunction, to the messy artistic approach she has in common with her hero author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books returns in the central part. Catt is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while moving between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid her husband curb his addiction. She experiences powerlessness as her spouse cycles through underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a society fueled by the rage and anxiety that drives an electoral success. Multiple pages are devoted about the protagonist facing cancellation on Twitter, her professional designation altered from "author" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to invest excessive emotion about this. On one occasion she states that she's looking into the killing so that before leaving Minnesota, "she could potentially understand something about an the nation that her online critics would be unable to grasp, would overlook entirely".

The Killing Story

Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the titular day passed by the murdered individual with the murderer and his companions. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and reconstructs step by step what happened when Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He was hoping for sex but appears congenially to have passed the day in the company of her associates, loitering fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being killed by gunfire by her romantic interest Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has often been institutionalized for fits of anger.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I found myself captivated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing wrestle in this part. Yet I wished her to delve deeper into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who gains dimension partly through the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in jail, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par