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The Four Spent the Day Together centers on protagonists pursuing new beginnings, trying to break free from addictions or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into intentionally weary through recurring use. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They decided to make a fresh start" are scattered across the text. Meanwhile, the author herself appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, since this presents as a novel form of writing – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. Yet it turns out to be filled with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as her previous works.

From Unplanned Author to Iconic Work

The writer started out as an artist who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, transforming intimate women's literature from humiliation into defiance. She persisted as a writer, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels missed the shock and immediacy that the epistolary style imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was significant attention on housing investments. It makes sense that she now wants to explore new kinds of material, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a moment when she states that contemporary political climate turns intimate literature unnecessary.

Three Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering multiple eras – none able to break free from their backgrounds. We encounter the story of Emma and Jasper, based on Kraus's parents, transitioning from the Bronx to rural Connecticut. There is the narrative of the author, in the guise of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a community long abandoned by forward-thinking policies only 80 miles from Catt's cottage in the Minnesota countryside.

As a reader fond of polished prose of the type Kraus often avoids, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.

As someone who reads who favors precise prose of the style that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. It possesses a fresh level of observation that allows space for trivial aspects, like the container that the youthful Catt dislodges from ice at the beginning of the narrative, helped by her beloved father. "I found an ice toy!" she says; "a nice toy", he answers, "the ambiguous meanings of language tumbling in their mouths like hard candy". She tells Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was destined to be disappointed when I expected this different style could last out the book. The author states here that she resents the enjoyment audiences such as myself have taken from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disjunction, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her previous novels comes back in the second segment. Catt is working on refurbishing 36 run-down apartments in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between Minnesota and LA, unable to aid her husband control his drinking. She is overwhelmed as Paul cycles through low-resource employment as an substance abuse counselor in a world propelled by the anger and fear that drives Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her professional designation altered from "author" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. Kraus still seems to care a little too much about this. On one occasion she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she may grasp something about an America that her online critics would be unable to grasp, would not even perceive".

The Killing Story

Then we reach to the homicide in question – and the eponymous day experienced by the deceased with the murderer and his friends. The author possesses great source material, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as Brandon came to meet Brittney after meeting her on an app where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but seems affably to have spent the day alongside her friends, mooching around getting his car mended and paying for snacks and drugs, before being shot by Brittney's partner Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I was fascinated by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to delve deeper into her own obsessions here. The standout figure is Brittney, who comes alive in part due to the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a difficult, overlooked locality. The author informs us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in detention, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels curiously unresolved, to the point that her narrative ends almost mid-par