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This latest work is populated with characters seeking clean slates, struggling to escape substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to find hope curdling into aggression. Chris Kraus often employs the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into deliberately jaded through its repetitions. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the narrative. And yet, the author herself appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, since this appears a novel form of writing – observational, truly literary. But then it reveals itself to be packed with the recurring issues and approaches as earlier books.

From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic

Kraus was originally an creative who became a writer almost accidentally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, structured as missives to a distant beloved, converting confessional female writing from self-debasement into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the following three compelling and abrasive novels missed the power and directness that the epistolary style brought to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her role as a renegade artist who had become a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It makes sense that she presently aims to experiment with different types of content, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a moment when she states that Trumpian politics makes confessional writing redundant.

Several Eras, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning several time periods – each trapped by their pasts. The book includes the story of characters Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, moving from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the story of Kraus herself, in the character of a figure named Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her substance-dependent spouse a man named Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one directionless individual by another in a locality mostly forsaken by liberal ideals only 80 miles from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.

As a reader drawn to polished prose of the sort the author herself often avoids, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the first section.

As a reader drawn to precise prose of the kind that the author tends to eschew, I was captivated by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that makes room for trivial aspects, like the container that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the opening of the book, assisted by her cherished parent. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she declares; "a great plaything", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words circulating in their speech like piece candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus says here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she has in common with her inspiration writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels reasserts itself in the central part. The protagonist is trying to renovate 36 run-down apartments in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between two different states, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She is overwhelmed as Paul transitions between low-resource employment as an substance abuse counselor in a society fueled by the rage and anxiety that powers an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation on social media, her listed profession modified from "novelist" to "property owner" on Wikipedia. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she could potentially understand something about an the nation that her social media opponents would not understand, would not even perceive".

The Homicide Account

Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the eponymous day experienced by the deceased with the murderer and his companions. Kraus has great source material, and details moment by moment what occurred as Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but seems affably to have spent the day with her companions, 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 repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. Yet I wished her to go further into her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid partially because of Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus notes that Catt speaks to Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the extent that her narrative ends almost mid-par