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The new book is populated with individuals seeking fresh starts, struggling to escape addictions or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into violence. The author often employs the phrase "clean slate", rendering it intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the narrative. And yet, she is embarking on her individual reinvention, because this appears a new kind of book – documentarian, authentically narrative. But then it reveals itself to be laden with the familiar conflicts and aesthetics as earlier books.

From Unplanned Author to Iconic Work

Kraus was originally an artist who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, converting intimate women's literature from humiliation into assassination. She persisted as a writer, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels did not possess the power and directness that the letter form brought to the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her position as a renegade artist who had evolved into a extensive real estate holder, so there was considerable focus on property transactions. It is logical that she presently aims to explore new kinds of material, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a period in which she states that Trumpian politics makes confessional writing unnecessary.

Multiple Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering three generations – none able to break free from their pasts. There is the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, moving from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the persona of Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse Paul. And there is the story of the murder of one lost young man by another in a community mostly forsaken by liberal ideals only a short distance from Catt's cottage in the Minnesota countryside.

For this reader drawn to polished prose of the type Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the literary tone of the first section.

As someone who reads who favors crafted language of the style that Kraus often disregards, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the first section. There is a fresh level of observation that accommodates minutiae, like the pail that the protagonist as a child pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, aided by her beloved father. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms circulating in their speech like hard candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not precisely her dream."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this new voice could last out the book. The author states here that she dislikes the pleasure readers like me have taken from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disjunction, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books comes back in the central part. Catt Greene is trying to renovate multiple decrepit residences in the city's most challenging districts while traveling between two different states, unable to aid Paul manage his alcohol use. She feels helpless as her spouse moves between low-resource employment as an substance abuse counselor in a environment propelled by the rage and anxiety that drives an electoral success. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt being cancelled on social media, her occupation changed from "writer" to "property owner" on Wikipedia. She still gives the impression to care a little too much about this. At one point she states that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States that her social media opponents would not understand, would not even perceive".

The Murder Narrative

So then we come to the actual killing – and the referenced day experienced by the victim with the perpetrator and his friends. The author possesses compelling foundational content, and details moment by moment what occurred as Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day alongside her friends, loitering getting his car mended and funding treats and narcotics, before being killed by gunfire by her romantic interest Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that her twin drives towards accurate chronicling and daring boundary-pushing wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is Brittney, who gains dimension partly through Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par