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The new book centers on protagonists pursuing fresh starts, trying to break free from substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. The author often employs the phrase "clean slate", rendering it willfully cynical through constant reiteration. Examples include "He aimed to start over" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the story. And yet, Kraus herself seems to be making her personal new beginning, because this appears a new kind of book – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. But then it proves to be laden with the recurring issues and approaches as her previous works.

From Unplanned Author to Renowned Book

Kraus began as an visual artist who entered the literary world unintentionally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, structured as missives to a distant beloved, elevating personal female narrative from humiliation into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the next trio of compelling and abrasive novels lacked the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her role as a renegade artist who had turned into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It follows that she now wants to experiment with different types of content, turning outward to external narratives, at a moment when she states that contemporary political climate turns intimate literature obsolete.

Multiple Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, encompassing three generations – none able to break free from their pasts. We encounter the tale of Emma and Jasper, versions of her own mother and father, relocating from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. There is the narrative of the author, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse Paul. The third thread involves the story of the murder of one lost young man by another in a community largely deserted by progressive politics only a short distance from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.

For this reader attracted to honed writing of the type Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the literary tone of the opening part.

As someone who reads who favors precise prose of the style that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the initial part. It possesses a fresh level of observation that allows space for minutiae, like the bucket that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the beginning of the narrative, aided by her beloved father. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not hers, exactly."

Frustration and Disruption

I was fated to feel let down when I hoped this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus says here that she resents the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her hero author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her earlier works comes back in the second segment. Catt is trying to renovate multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between Minnesota and LA, unsuccessful in assisting Paul manage his alcohol use. She feels helpless as her spouse cycles through poorly supported positions as an recovery specialist in a society fueled by the anger and fear that underpins a political win. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to care a little too much about this. In a moment 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 fail to comprehend, would not even see".

The Murder Narrative

So then we come to the murder itself – and the referenced day experienced by the victim with the murderer and his friends. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and details moment by moment what happened when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she sold sex pictures. He was hoping for sex but appears congenially to have passed the day in the company of her associates, loitering having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being murdered by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has often been institutionalized for aggressive outbursts.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt gets obsessed by the narrative, and I found myself captivated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards accurate chronicling and reckless transgression tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her own obsessions here. The standout figure is Brittney, who gains dimension in part due to Catt seeing herself in her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. The author informs us that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par