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The new book centers on characters seeking fresh starts, attempting to leave behind drugs or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", transforming it into deliberately jaded through recurring use. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the story. Meanwhile, the author herself is embarking on her own fresh start, as this seems a novel form of writing – observational, truly literary. However it reveals itself to be packed with the familiar conflicts and approaches as past novels.

From Accidental Writer to Renowned Book

Chris Kraus began as an creative who entered the literary world unintentionally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, structured as letters to an unreceptive lover, elevating intimate women's literature from humiliation into defiance. She continued writing, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels did not possess the shock and immediacy that the letter form brought to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her identity as a renegade artist who had evolved into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It makes sense that she now wants to explore different types of content, turning outward to other people's stories, at a moment when she claims that current political era turns intimate literature unnecessary.

Several Eras, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, encompassing multiple eras – each trapped by their pasts. There is the narrative about Emma and Jasper, representations of the author's parents, moving from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the guise of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. And there is the story of the murder of one troubled youth by another in a locality mostly forsaken by progressive politics only a short distance from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.

From my perspective as a reader fond of refined literature of the type Kraus herself often avoids, I was seduced by the literary tone of the first section.

As a reader drawn to crafted language of the variety that the author usually avoids, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the first section. It exhibits a new quality of attentiveness that accommodates small details, like the bucket that the young Catt dislodges from ice at the beginning of the narrative, helped by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she says; "a nice toy", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". She tells the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was bound to become frustrated when I hoped this new voice could persist to the end. Kraus says here that she is annoyed by the satisfaction readers like me have taken from I Love Dick; she's devoted to fragmentation, to the unpolished style she shares with her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels comes back in the second segment. The protagonist is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while moving between two different states, unsuccessful in assisting Paul control his drinking. She is overwhelmed as her spouse transitions between poorly supported positions as an recovery specialist in a environment driven by the rage and anxiety that underpins a political win. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on social media, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "landlord" on a reference site. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she states that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an the nation that her social media opponents would not understand, would overlook entirely".

The Murder Narrative

So then we come to the murder itself – and the eponymous day passed by the murdered individual with the killer and his associates. Kraus has excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what happened when the victim Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He was hoping for sex but seems amiably to have occupied the day with her companions, wandering about getting his car mended and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by her romantic interest Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has often been institutionalized for violent rage.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

The protagonist becomes fixated by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that her twin drives towards accurate chronicling and daring boundary-pushing tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who comes alive partly through the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus notes that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par