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The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with individuals pursuing clean slates, struggling to escape addictions or abusive marriages, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "fresh start", rendering it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They chose to begin anew" are scattered across the narrative. At the same time, the author herself appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, as this presents as a new kind of book – fact-based, authentically narrative. Yet it proves to be packed with the familiar conflicts and approaches as her previous works.

From Unplanned Author to Renowned Book

Chris Kraus began as an creative who became a writer unintentionally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, transforming intimate women's literature from self-debasement into assassination. She persisted as a writer, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels did not possess the impact and rawness that the letter form imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her role as a renegade artist who had turned into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was significant attention on housing investments. It is logical that she presently aims to experiment with different types of content, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a period in which she claims that current political era makes confessional writing obsolete.

Several Eras, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning multiple eras – each trapped by their histories. The book includes the story of Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, relocating from the urban environment to a pastoral setting. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the persona of a figure named Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband Paul. The third thread involves the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a town mostly forsaken by progressive politics only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in a remote part of Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader drawn to refined literature of the kind Kraus tends to eschew, I was seduced by the narrative style of the first section.

As someone who reads who appreciates crafted language of the kind that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the first section. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that accommodates small details, like the bucket that the protagonist as a child dislodges from ice at the opening of the book, aided by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms tumbling in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."

Frustration and Disruption

I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this fresh tone could continue through the novel. The author states here that she dislikes the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she has in common with her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her past books reasserts itself in the middle section. The protagonist is trying to renovate multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between two different states, unsuccessful in assisting Paul curb his addiction. She feels helpless as Paul moves between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a society driven by the hostility and dread that drives Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her professional designation altered from "writer" to "real estate holder" on a reference site. She still gives the impression to invest excessive emotion about this. On one occasion she states that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her Twitter detractors would fail to comprehend, would not even perceive".

The Murder Narrative

So then we come to the murder itself – and the referenced day passed by the victim with the perpetrator and his companions. The author possesses excellent raw material, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as 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 with her companions, loitering getting his car mended and covering the cost of food and substances, before being shot by her romantic interest a man named Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has often been institutionalized for aggressive outbursts.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

The protagonist becomes fixated by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to go further into her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid in part due to Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman derailing in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par