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The Four Spent the Day Together centers on individuals pursuing new beginnings, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. The author often employs the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into willfully cynical through recurring use. Examples include "He could make a fresh start" and "They decided to make a fresh start" recur in the story. At the same time, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, as this presents as a different type of work – observational, authentically narrative. Yet it proves to be filled with the familiar conflicts and styles as earlier books.

From Unplanned Author to Renowned Book

Kraus was originally an artist who entered the literary world almost accidentally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, converting confessional female writing from self-debasement into rebellion. She kept producing books, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels missed the shock and immediacy that the letter form infused into the narrative voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her identity as a renegade artist who had become a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It is logical that she presently aims to try out new kinds of material, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a moment when she states that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing redundant.

Three Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, covering three generations – each trapped by their backgrounds. The book includes the narrative about a couple named Emma and Jasper, representations of the author's parents, moving from the New York borough to rural Connecticut. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the guise of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her addict husband a man named Paul. The third thread involves the account of a killing of one directionless individual by another in a community largely deserted by progressive politics only a short distance from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.

For this reader drawn to honed writing of the type Kraus often avoids, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the opening part.

As someone who reads who appreciates crafted language of the variety that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was seduced by the literary tone of the first section. There is a new quality of attentiveness that makes room for small details, like the container that the young Catt dislodges from ice at the opening of the book, helped by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms tumbling in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not entirely her own."

Frustration and Disruption

I was fated to feel let down when I wished this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus says here that she dislikes the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's committed to disjunction, to the unpolished style she has in common with her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her previous novels returns in the second segment. Catt is attempting to do up 36 run-down apartments in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between Minnesota and LA, failing to help Paul manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as her spouse transitions between poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a environment fueled by the rage and anxiety that drives Trump's victory. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her professional designation altered from "author" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. She still gives the impression to care a little too much about this. In a moment she states that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would not even see".

The Homicide Account

Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the eponymous day passed by the murdered individual with the killer and his friends. Kraus has excellent raw material, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as a man named Brandon came to visit Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, mooching around fixing his automobile and covering the cost of food and substances, before being shot by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

The protagonist becomes fixated by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and reckless transgression tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is Brittney, who gains dimension partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual derailing in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par