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This latest work centers on protagonists seeking new beginnings, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into aggression. Chris Kraus often employs the phrase "clean slate", rendering it deliberately jaded through recurring use. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the story. And yet, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, because this presents as a different type of work – fact-based, authentically narrative. Yet it proves to be laden with the familiar conflicts and aesthetics as earlier books.

From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book

Kraus began as an artist who entered the literary world almost accidentally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, structured as missives to a distant beloved, transforming personal female narrative from humiliation into defiance. She persisted as a writer, but the three subsequent compelling and abrasive novels lacked the power and directness that the letter form brought to the voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her role as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a extensive real estate holder, so there was considerable focus on property transactions. It follows that she presently aims to explore fresh narrative sources, directing her gaze to other people's stories, at a moment when she states that Trumpian politics turns intimate literature redundant.

Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering multiple eras – none able to break free from their backgrounds. The book includes the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, transitioning from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of a figure named Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse her husband Paul. And there is the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a community long abandoned by progressive politics only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in the Minnesota countryside.

For this reader attracted to polished prose of the kind the author herself often avoids, I was enchanted by the narrative style of the initial segment.

As a reader drawn to honed writing of the style that Kraus often disregards, I was captivated by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that allows space for minutiae, like the container that the youthful Catt pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, helped by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates Emma's story with interest and closeness. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not entirely her own."

Frustration and Disruption

I was fated to feel let down when I hoped this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment audiences such as myself have taken from I Love Dick; she's committed to disjunction, to the messy artistic approach she has in common with her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her past books reasserts itself in the central part. The protagonist is trying to renovate three dozen dilapidated units in the city's most challenging districts while shuttling between two different states, failing to help Paul control his drinking. She feels helpless as Paul cycles through low-resource employment as an substance abuse counselor in a environment driven by the anger and fear that underpins a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about the protagonist facing cancellation 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. On one occasion she says that she's looking into the killing so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an the nation that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would not even see".

The Murder Narrative

Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the eponymous day spent by the victim with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and knows hour by hour what transpired when the victim Brandon came to see Brittney after meeting her on an app where she marketed explicit images. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day alongside her friends, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being murdered by her romantic interest a man named Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has frequently been hospitalised for fits of anger.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who comes alive partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus notes that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the extent that her narrative ends almost mid-par