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This latest work features individuals chasing after clean slates, attempting to leave behind addictions or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. The author frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", rendering it deliberately jaded through recurring use. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They chose to begin anew" are scattered across the story. At the same time, she appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, since this appears a new kind of book – documentarian, authentically narrative. But then it proves to be packed with the recurring issues and approaches as past novels.

From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic

Chris Kraus began as an creative who entered the literary world almost accidentally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, elevating personal female narrative from abjection into assassination. She kept producing books, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the impact and rawness that the letter form infused into the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a maverick maker who had evolved into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was much discussion on property transactions. It is logical that she presently aims to experiment with different types of content, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a time when she claims that Trumpian politics turns intimate literature unnecessary.

Several Eras, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering multiple eras – all unable to escape their histories. We encounter the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, representations of the author's parents, transitioning from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse her husband Paul. The third thread involves the narrative of a homicide of one directionless individual by another in a community long abandoned by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.

As a reader drawn to polished prose of the type Kraus often avoids, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening part.

As a reader who appreciates crafted language of the style that Kraus often disregards, I was captivated by the storytelling approach of the first section. It possesses a fresh level of observation that accommodates trivial aspects, like the bucket that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the start of the story, aided by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she says; "a nice toy", he responds, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates Emma's story with interest and closeness. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not hers, exactly."

Frustration and Disruption

I was destined to be disappointed when I hoped this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus says here that she resents the enjoyment audiences such as myself have taken from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the unpolished style she has in common with her hero writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels comes back in the second segment. Catt is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid her husband manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as Paul moves between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a environment fueled by the hostility and dread that powers an electoral success. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on social media, her professional designation altered from "novelist" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. Kraus still seems to care a little too much about this. On one occasion she states that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States that her online critics would not understand, would overlook entirely".

The Killing Story

Then we reach to the murder itself – and the titular day experienced by the victim with the perpetrator and his friends. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what transpired when the victim Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, loitering getting his car mended and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for fits of anger.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards responsible documentation and daring boundary-pushing clash in this segment. But I'd have liked her to go further into her own obsessions here. The compelling persona is Brittney, who becomes vivid partly through the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus notes that Catt speaks to Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The whole section feels strangely incomplete, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par