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The new book features protagonists pursuing clean slates, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", making it deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Examples include "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the text. At the same time, Kraus herself seems to be making her personal new beginning, as this presents as a novel form of writing – fact-based, truly literary. But then it reveals itself to be filled with the recurring issues and approaches as earlier books.

From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic

Kraus started out as an visual artist who entered the literary world unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming personal female narrative from abjection into defiance. She kept producing books, but the following three engaging and challenging novels lacked the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format infused into the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a nonconformist creator who had become a extensive real estate holder, so there was significant attention on housing investments. It follows that she now wants to explore different types of content, turning outward to external narratives, at a moment when she claims that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing obsolete.

Three Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, encompassing several time periods – none able to break free from their histories. We encounter the tale of Emma and Jasper, based on her own mother and father, transitioning from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Then there is the narrative of the author, in the guise of a figure named Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a locality largely deserted by liberal ideals only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.

From my perspective as a reader attracted to polished prose of the type Kraus herself often avoids, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the opening part.

As a reader who appreciates precise prose of the kind that Kraus often disregards, I was seduced by the literary tone of the initial part. It possesses a fresh level of observation that accommodates trivial aspects, like the bucket that the youthful Catt dislodges from ice at the opening of the book, aided by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she declares; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like sweet treats". Kraus writes Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not precisely her dream."

Frustration and Disruption

I was destined to be disappointed when I hoped this new voice could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she resents the enjoyment readers like me have taken from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her idol Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels reasserts itself in the middle section. The protagonist is trying to renovate multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between two different states, unsuccessful in assisting Paul curb his addiction. She feels helpless as Paul moves between low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a society propelled by the anger and fear that underpins Trump's victory. There are several pages about Catt's social media ostracism on social media, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "real estate holder" on a reference site. Kraus still seems to care a little too much 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 America that her Twitter detractors would be unable to grasp, would overlook entirely".

The Killing Story

Then we reach to the homicide in question – and the eponymous day spent by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his associates. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as a man named Brandon came to meet Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day in the company of her associates, loitering getting his car mended and covering the cost of food and substances, before being shot by Brittney's boyfriend a man named Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has frequently been hospitalised for violent rage.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and reckless transgression clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who gains dimension partly through Catt seeing herself in her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus notes that Catt speaks to Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par