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The new book features characters seeking fresh starts, struggling to escape substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into violence. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into intentionally weary through recurring use. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They decided to make a fresh start" recur in the story. And yet, the author herself seems to be making her personal new beginning, since this presents as a different type of work – documentarian, truly literary. However it turns out to be laden with the familiar conflicts and aesthetics as past novels.

From Unplanned Author to Iconic Work

The writer started out as an artist who became a writer somewhat by chance with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, elevating intimate women's literature from humiliation into assassination. She continued writing, but the following three fascinating and rebarbative novels missed the impact and rawness that the letter form imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her position as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a extensive real estate holder, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It is logical that she currently desires to experiment with different types of content, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a moment when she states that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative redundant.

Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning multiple eras – each trapped by their backgrounds. There is the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, relocating from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Then there is the narrative of the author, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a community long abandoned by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.

For this reader fond of honed writing of the type the author herself often avoids, I was enchanted by the novelistic voice of the first section.

As a reader who appreciates crafted language of the kind that Kraus often disregards, I was won over by the storytelling approach of the initial part. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that makes room for small details, like the container that the youthful Catt pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, aided by her cherished parent. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates Emma's story with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not precisely her dream."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was destined to be disappointed when I hoped this different style could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the satisfaction audiences such as myself have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her inspiration writer Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her previous novels returns in the middle section. Catt is attempting to do up 36 run-down apartments in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between Minnesota and LA, unable to aid Paul control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as her spouse moves between underfunded jobs as an addiction therapist in a society fueled by the anger and fear that powers an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "landlord" on a reference site. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she says that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an the nation that her social media opponents would fail to comprehend, would not even perceive".

The Murder Narrative

Thus we arrive to the homicide in question – and the referenced day passed by the murdered individual with the murderer and his friends. The author possesses excellent raw material, and reconstructs step by step what happened when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but seems affably to have spent the day with her companions, wandering about getting his car mended and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.

Fascination and Incompletion

Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that her twin drives 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, who gains dimension partly through the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. The author informs us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in jail, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The whole section feels strangely incomplete, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par