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The Four Spent the Day Together features protagonists chasing after new beginnings, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to find hope curdling into violence. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", making it deliberately jaded through recurring use. Sentences like "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the narrative. At the same time, the author herself appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, as this seems a new kind of book – observational, truly literary. Yet it proves to be laden with the same dilemmas and approaches as past novels.

From Unplanned Author to Renowned Book

The writer was originally an artist who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, elevating confessional female writing from humiliation into assassination. She continued writing, but the following three compelling and abrasive novels did not possess the impact and rawness that the epistolary style imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her position as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a extensive real estate holder, so there was much discussion on property transactions. It is logical that she now wants to try out fresh narrative sources, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a moment when she states that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing unnecessary.

Several Eras, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, spanning multiple eras – all unable to escape their backgrounds. We encounter the story of Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, relocating from the New York borough to rural Connecticut. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the guise of Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a community largely deserted by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in rural Minnesota.

As a reader attracted to polished prose of the sort Kraus herself often avoids, I was captivated by the literary tone of the initial segment.

As a reader who appreciates honed writing of the style that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. There is a new quality of attentiveness that makes room for small details, like the container that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the beginning of the narrative, assisted by her cherished parent. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like hard candy". Kraus writes the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was fated to feel let down when I wished this different style could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she resents the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disruption, to the unpolished style she shares with her inspiration writer Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her previous novels comes back in the middle section. Catt Greene is trying to renovate three dozen dilapidated units in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between two different states, unable to aid her husband manage his alcohol use. She is overwhelmed as Paul transitions between low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a world fueled by the anger and fear that underpins a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her listed profession modified from "novelist" to "landlord" on a reference site. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. At one point she states that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would not even see".

The Killing Story

Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the eponymous day spent by the deceased with the murderer and his friends. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what transpired when the victim Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day with her companions, mooching around having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by her romantic interest Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

The protagonist becomes fixated by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards responsible documentation and daring boundary-pushing clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to go further into her individual preoccupations here. The compelling persona is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid partly through the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual spiraling out of control in a troubled, forgotten town. The author informs us that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the point that her narrative ends almost mid-par