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The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with characters pursuing fresh starts, trying to break free from drugs or abusive marriages, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", making it deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the narrative. At the same time, she seems to be making her own fresh start, because this seems a novel form of writing – observational, genuinely novelistic. However it reveals itself to be filled with the same dilemmas and approaches as earlier books.

From Unplanned Author 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, transforming confessional female writing from self-debasement into defiance. She continued writing, but the following three fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the impact and rawness that the correspondence format infused into the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her position as a renegade artist who had turned into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It follows that she presently aims to experiment with new kinds of material, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a moment when she asserts that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative unnecessary.

Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing three generations – each trapped by their pasts. There is the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, transitioning from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. Then there is the account of Kraus, in the persona of Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction her husband Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a community largely deserted by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from Catt's cottage in a remote part of Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader fond of honed writing of the sort Kraus herself often avoids, I was enchanted by the literary tone of the opening part.

As someone who reads who favors honed writing of the kind that the author usually avoids, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the first section. There is a novel degree of detail that makes room for small details, like the container that the young Catt dislodges from ice at the start of the story, assisted by her cherished parent. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she declares; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". Kraus writes Emma's story with curiosity and intimacy. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not hers, exactly."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was fated to feel let down when I hoped this fresh tone could continue through the novel. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the satisfaction readers like me have gotten from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels comes back in the central part. The protagonist is attempting to do up three dozen dilapidated units in the city's most challenging districts while shuttling between two different states, unable to aid Paul control his drinking. She feels helpless as Paul transitions between poorly supported positions as an addiction therapist in a world propelled by the hostility and dread that drives an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her occupation changed from "author" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to care a little too much about this. At one point she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".

The Murder Narrative

So then we come to the actual killing – and the referenced day spent by the deceased with the perpetrator and his associates. Kraus utilizes great source material, and reconstructs step by step what happened when the victim Brandon came to meet Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she marketed explicit images. He anticipated intimacy but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, mooching around having his vehicle repaired and paying for snacks and drugs, before being killed by gunfire by her romantic interest Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has frequently been hospitalised for violent rage.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

The protagonist becomes fixated by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that her twin drives towards accurate chronicling and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The most interesting character is Brittney, who comes alive partly through Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The whole section feels curiously unresolved, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par