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The Four Spent the Day Together centers on protagonists pursuing clean slates, trying to break free from substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to find hope curdling into violence. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "fresh start", making it willfully cynical through recurring use. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They decided to make a fresh start" recur in the narrative. At the same time, the author herself appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, as this presents as a new kind of book – documentarian, truly literary. Yet it proves to be packed with the same dilemmas and styles as her previous works.

From Accidental Writer to Renowned Book

Chris Kraus started out as an artist who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of letters to an unreceptive lover, elevating personal female narrative from humiliation into defiance. She continued writing, but the following three engaging and challenging novels lacked the power and directness that the correspondence format imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her role as a maverick maker who had evolved into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It makes sense that she now wants to experiment with new kinds of material, turning outward to other people's stories, at a time when she states that current political era turns intimate literature redundant.

Several Eras, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering three generations – none able to break free from their histories. We encounter the narrative about a couple named Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, moving from the urban environment to rural Connecticut. There is the story of Kraus herself, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her addict husband Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one troubled youth by another in a community largely deserted by progressive politics only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in rural Minnesota.

For this reader fond of honed writing of the type Kraus tends to eschew, I was captivated by the narrative style of the opening part.

Being a reader who favors honed writing of the variety that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the initial part. There is a novel degree of detail that accommodates trivial aspects, like the pail that the youthful Catt pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, aided by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he answers, "the ambiguous meanings of language circulating in their speech like hard candy". The author narrates Emma's narrative with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not precisely her dream."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this new voice could last out the book. Kraus says here that she resents the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's committed to fragmentation, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her inspiration writer Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her past books comes back in the central part. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between two different states, unable to aid Paul manage his alcohol use. She is overwhelmed as Paul moves between underfunded jobs as an addiction therapist in a world fueled by the rage and anxiety that powers an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her listed profession modified from "novelist" to "landlord" on Wikipedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. At one point she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she may grasp something about an America that her Twitter detractors would not understand, would not even see".

The Killing Story

So then we come to the homicide in question – and the eponymous day passed by the victim with the murderer and his associates. Kraus utilizes compelling foundational content, and reconstructs step by step what transpired when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He anticipated intimacy but seems amiably to have occupied the day with her companions, mooching around getting his car mended and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by her romantic interest a man named Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

The protagonist becomes fixated by the story, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is Brittney, who gains dimension partly through Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in jail, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the extent that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par