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This latest work is populated with protagonists pursuing fresh starts, trying to break free from substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to see hope turn into aggression. Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into intentionally weary through its repetitions. Examples include "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the text. And yet, she appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, because this seems a new kind of book – documentarian, truly literary. Yet it turns out to be packed with the familiar conflicts and approaches as her previous works.

From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic

The writer was originally an visual artist who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, structured as letters to an unreceptive lover, converting intimate women's literature from humiliation into rebellion. She continued writing, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels did not possess the impact and rawness that the correspondence format imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her position as a maverick maker who had become a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It makes sense that she now wants to try out new kinds of material, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a moment when she claims that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing obsolete.

Multiple Generations, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering multiple eras – all unable to escape their histories. There is the tale of a couple named Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, transitioning from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the story of Kraus herself, in the guise of a figure named Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. The third thread involves the story of the murder of one lost young man by another in a community largely deserted by liberal ideals only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in the Minnesota countryside.

For this reader fond of honed writing of the kind Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the narrative style of the opening part.

As someone who reads drawn to crafted language of the kind that the author often disregards, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the first section. There is a novel degree of detail that accommodates trivial aspects, like the container that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the start of the story, aided by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like hard candy". She tells Emma's narrative with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was destined to be disappointed when I hoped this different style could persist to the end. The author states here that she is annoyed by the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disjunction, to the untidy aesthetics she echoes from her idol Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her earlier works comes back in the second segment. Catt Greene is trying to renovate multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between two different states, failing to help her husband curb his addiction. She feels helpless as Paul moves between poorly supported positions as an recovery specialist in a environment fueled by the anger and fear that drives a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she states that she's looking into the killing so that before exiting the region, "she may grasp something about an America that her online critics would not understand, would overlook entirely".

The Homicide Account

So then we come to the homicide in question – and the referenced day spent by the victim with the murderer and his companions. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and knows hour by hour what transpired when Brandon came to visit Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has often been institutionalized for aggressive outbursts.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression tussle in this section. But I'd have liked her to explore more thoroughly her own obsessions here. The most interesting character is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid partially because of Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus notes that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels curiously unresolved, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par