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The new book centers on protagonists seeking new beginnings, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. The author frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", rendering it deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Examples include "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the text. Meanwhile, she appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, as this appears a different type of work – documentarian, authentically narrative. However it turns out to be laden with the same dilemmas and approaches as past novels.

From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work

The writer started out as an artist who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming confessional female writing from abjection into defiance. She continued writing, but the following three compelling and abrasive novels did not possess the impact and rawness that the correspondence format imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her position as a maverick maker who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It is logical that she now wants to try out new kinds of material, directing her gaze to other people's stories, at a period in which she asserts that current political era renders personal narrative obsolete.

Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, encompassing multiple eras – each trapped by their pasts. The book includes the story of characters Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, transitioning from the urban environment to a pastoral setting. There is the account of Kraus, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse her husband Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a locality long abandoned by progressive politics only a short distance from Catt's rural residence in the Minnesota countryside.

From my perspective as a reader attracted to honed writing of the type Kraus herself typically rejects, I was enchanted by the literary tone of the first section.

Being a reader who appreciates precise prose of the kind that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was won over by the literary tone of the initial part. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that makes room for trivial aspects, like the container that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, aided by her cherished parent. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms 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 hers, exactly."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this new voice could persist to the end. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the satisfaction readers like me have taken from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she has in common with her hero author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her past books comes back in the middle section. Catt is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between Minnesota and LA, failing to help her husband manage his alcohol use. She feels helpless as Paul transitions between poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a world driven by the anger and fear that drives a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "landlord" on a reference site. The author still appears to care a little too much about this. At one point she says that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would not even perceive".

The Killing Story

Then we reach to the murder itself – and the titular day experienced by the deceased with the murderer and his associates. The author possesses excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what transpired when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after meeting her on an app where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, mooching around having his vehicle repaired and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by Brittney's partner Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has often been institutionalized for violent rage.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards accurate chronicling and daring boundary-pushing clash in this segment. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The compelling persona is the character Brittney, who gains dimension partly through Catt seeing herself in her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman derailing in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus notes that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in jail, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par