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This latest work centers on protagonists pursuing new beginnings, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to see hope turn into conflict. Chris Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "fresh start", transforming it into willfully cynical through recurring use. Examples include "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the narrative. Meanwhile, the author herself is embarking on her individual reinvention, as this presents as a new kind of book – documentarian, truly literary. Yet it turns out to be packed with the recurring issues and approaches as her previous works.

From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work

The writer was originally an visual artist who entered the literary world unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming confessional female writing from self-debasement into defiance. She kept producing books, but the following three engaging and challenging novels did not possess the shock and immediacy that the letter form brought to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had become a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It follows that she now wants to explore new kinds of material, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a time when she asserts that Trumpian politics turns intimate literature redundant.

Several Eras, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, encompassing three generations – each trapped by their pasts. The book includes the narrative about Emma and Jasper, representations of her own mother and father, transitioning from the Bronx to the Connecticut countryside. There is the narrative of the author, in the character of a figure named Catt Greene, reckoning with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her addict husband Paul. The third thread involves the narrative of a homicide of one directionless individual by another in a town largely deserted by progressive politics only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in rural Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader fond of refined literature of the sort Kraus herself typically rejects, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the first section.

As a reader who favors precise prose of the kind that the author tends to eschew, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening segment. There is a fresh level of observation that accommodates trivial aspects, like the bucket that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the beginning of the narrative, aided by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she declares; "a nice toy", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like hard candy". She tells Emma's story with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not precisely her dream."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this different style could continue through the novel. The author states here that she dislikes the pleasure audiences such as myself have gotten from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, to the messy artistic approach she has in common with her idol Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels returns in the central part. Catt is trying to renovate 36 run-down apartments in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between two different states, unable to aid Paul manage his alcohol use. She is overwhelmed as Paul moves between low-resource employment as an recovery specialist in a world fueled by the rage and anxiety that drives an electoral success. Multiple pages are devoted about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her professional designation altered from "author" to "landlord" on the online encyclopedia. She still gives the impression 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 online critics would be unable to grasp, would not even see".

The Killing Story

So then we come to the murder itself – and the eponymous day passed by the deceased with the killer and his companions. Kraus utilizes compelling foundational content, and details moment by moment what occurred as a man named Brandon came to visit Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day alongside her friends, loitering getting his car mended and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's partner Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

The protagonist becomes fixated by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and reckless transgression clash in this segment. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her own obsessions here. The most interesting character is Brittney, who comes alive partly through the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par