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The Four Spent the Day Together centers on characters pursuing clean slates, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. Chris Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "fresh start", rendering it willfully cynical through its repetitions. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the story. Meanwhile, the author herself seems to be making her personal new beginning, since this presents as a novel form of writing – documentarian, truly literary. However it turns out to be laden with the familiar conflicts and aesthetics as her previous works.

From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book

Kraus was originally an artist who became a writer almost accidentally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, structured as epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming personal female narrative from self-debasement into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the following three compelling and abrasive novels missed the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format infused into the tone of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her identity as a maverick maker who had turned into a extensive real estate holder, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It is logical that she now wants to try out new kinds of material, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a period in which she states that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative unnecessary.

Several Eras, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning three generations – all unable to escape their pasts. We encounter the tale of characters Emma and Jasper, based on her own mother and father, moving from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. And there is the narrative of a homicide of one directionless individual by another in a community largely deserted by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.

For this reader fond of refined literature of the type the author herself typically rejects, I was enchanted by the literary tone of the first section.

As a reader drawn to crafted language of the style that the author usually avoids, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. There is a novel degree of detail that makes room for trivial aspects, like the container that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the start of the story, assisted by her beloved father. "I found an ice toy!" she says; "a nice toy", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates Emma's story with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment readers like me have gotten from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her hero writer Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her previous novels returns in the middle section. Catt Greene is attempting to do up 36 run-down apartments in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between two different states, failing to help Paul manage his alcohol use. She feels helpless as Paul cycles through underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a environment propelled by the anger and fear that powers a political win. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. At one point she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her Twitter detractors would not understand, would overlook entirely".

The Murder Narrative

Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the eponymous day spent by the victim with the murderer and his associates. Kraus utilizes compelling foundational content, and details moment by moment what happened when the victim Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but appears congenially to have passed the day in the company of her associates, mooching around having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being murdered by her romantic interest Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has often been institutionalized for violent rage.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt develops an obsession by the account, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and reckless transgression clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The compelling persona is Brittney, who becomes vivid in part due to Catt seeing herself in her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in jail, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The whole section feels strangely incomplete, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par