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The new book centers on characters chasing after clean slates, attempting to leave behind addictions or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into conflict. The author often employs the phrase "new beginning", making it deliberately jaded through its repetitions. Examples include "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the story. At the same time, Kraus herself is embarking on her personal new beginning, as this appears a different type of work – observational, truly literary. However it turns out to be laden with the familiar conflicts and approaches as her previous works.

From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic

The writer started out as an artist who became a writer 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 rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the power and directness that the letter form imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her position as a renegade artist who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It follows that she presently aims to explore new kinds of material, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a time when she claims that current political era makes confessional writing unnecessary.

Multiple Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering multiple eras – none able to break free from their pasts. The book includes the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, moving from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her addict husband a man named Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one directionless individual by another in a locality largely deserted by forward-thinking policies only a short distance from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader fond of polished prose of the type Kraus typically rejects, I was enchanted by the narrative style of the opening part.

As someone who reads drawn to crafted language of the style that Kraus usually avoids, I was captivated by the storytelling approach of the initial part. There is a fresh level of observation that accommodates trivial aspects, like the bucket that the protagonist as a child dislodges from ice at the start of the story, helped by her adored dad. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words 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."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this new voice could continue through the novel. The author states here that she is annoyed by the satisfaction audiences such as myself have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she has in common with her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works returns in the second segment. Catt Greene is attempting to do up three dozen dilapidated units in the city's most challenging districts while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, failing to help Paul manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as Paul cycles through low-resource employment as an substance abuse counselor in a environment propelled by the hostility and dread that powers an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "property owner" on Wikipedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she says that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States that her Twitter detractors would fail to comprehend, would not even see".

The Killing Story

So then we come to the actual killing – and the titular day spent by the deceased with the killer and his friends. Kraus has excellent raw material, and reconstructs step by step what transpired when 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, loitering getting his car mended and covering the cost of food and substances, before being murdered by her romantic interest Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has often been institutionalized for violent rage.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt gets obsessed by the narrative, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. But I'd have liked her to delve deeper into her own obsessions here. The compelling persona is the character Brittney, who gains dimension partly through Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the extent that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par