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The Four Spent the Day Together centers on protagonists seeking new beginnings, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to find hope curdling into aggression. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "clean slate", making it intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They decided to make a fresh start" appear throughout the narrative. And yet, Kraus herself is embarking on her personal new beginning, as this appears a different type of work – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. Yet it reveals itself to be filled with the recurring issues and aesthetics as earlier books.

From Unplanned Author to Renowned Book

Chris Kraus was originally an visual artist who entered the literary world almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming intimate women's literature from abjection into rebellion. She kept producing books, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the shock and immediacy that the epistolary style imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a renegade artist who had turned into a extensive real estate holder, so there was significant attention on housing investments. It makes sense that she presently aims to explore new kinds of material, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a period in which she claims that Trumpian politics turns intimate literature obsolete.

Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering three generations – each trapped by their pasts. We encounter the tale of Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, relocating from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the character of Catt Greene, reckoning with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a community mostly forsaken by forward-thinking policies only 80 miles from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader attracted to polished prose of the kind Kraus herself typically rejects, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.

Being a reader who appreciates precise prose of the style that the author tends to eschew, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the first section. It possesses a fresh level of observation that accommodates small details, like the container that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the opening of the book, assisted by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she declares; "a nice toy", he responds, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates Emma's narrative with interest and closeness. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was fated to feel let down when I expected this fresh tone could continue through the novel. The author states here that she resents the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's committed to fragmentation, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her hero author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her previous novels comes back in the middle section. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between two different states, unsuccessful in assisting Paul manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as Paul moves between low-resource employment as an recovery specialist in a society fueled by the anger and fear that powers Trump's victory. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her occupation changed from "author" to "landlord" on a reference site. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she states that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an the United States that her Twitter detractors would not understand, would not even perceive".

The Murder Narrative

Thus we arrive to the homicide in question – and the titular day spent by the victim with the killer and his companions. Kraus utilizes great source material, and reconstructs step by step what transpired when the victim Brandon came to meet Brittney after meeting her on an app where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, loitering getting his car mended and funding treats and narcotics, before being murdered by Brittney's partner Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has frequently been hospitalised for violent rage.

Fascination and Incompletion

Catt gets obsessed by the narrative, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. Yet I wished her to explore more thoroughly her own obsessions here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid partially because of Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus notes that Catt converses with Brittney in prison, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par