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This latest work is populated with individuals chasing after new beginnings, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into aggression. Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "clean slate", rendering it willfully cynical through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They decided to make a fresh start" appear throughout the story. Meanwhile, the author herself seems to be making her individual reinvention, as this seems a different type of work – observational, truly literary. However it turns out to be laden with the familiar conflicts and styles as past novels.

From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic

Kraus was originally an visual artist who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, converting confessional female writing from self-debasement into defiance. She continued writing, but the following three fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the impact and rawness that the correspondence format infused into the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her position as a maverick maker who had turned into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It follows that she now wants to explore new kinds of material, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a time when she states that current political era turns intimate literature obsolete.

Several Eras, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering multiple eras – none able to break free from their histories. There is the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, versions of her own mother and father, moving from the urban environment to rural Connecticut. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the guise of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her addict husband Paul. The third thread involves the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a community mostly forsaken by liberal ideals only a short distance from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader drawn to honed writing of the sort Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the opening part.

As someone who reads drawn to honed writing of the kind that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the first section. It possesses a fresh level of observation that allows space for minutiae, like the bucket that the young Catt frees from the ice at the opening of the book, aided by her cherished parent. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates the tale of Emma with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was bound to become frustrated when I expected this new voice could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her idol author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels comes back in the central part. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between two different states, failing to help Paul control his drinking. She is overwhelmed as her spouse moves between low-resource employment as an substance abuse counselor in a society fueled by the hostility and dread that powers Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on social media, her listed profession modified from "author" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she states that she's researching the homicide so that before exiting the region, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her Twitter detractors would be unable to grasp, would not even perceive".

The Killing Story

Then we reach to the homicide in question – and the referenced day spent by the victim with the murderer and his friends. Kraus has excellent raw material, and reconstructs step by step what transpired when Brandon came to meet Brittney after meeting her on an app where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but appears congenially to have passed the day alongside her friends, wandering about fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being shot by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I was fascinated by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and reckless transgression clash in this segment. But I'd have liked her to delve deeper into her own obsessions here. The most interesting character is the character Brittney, who becomes vivid partly through Catt's identification with her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual spiraling out of control in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus notes that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par