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The new book centers on protagonists chasing after new beginnings, struggling to escape substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the story. And yet, she is embarking on her personal new beginning, because this seems a different type of work – fact-based, authentically narrative. But then it proves to be packed with the recurring issues and styles as her previous works.

From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic

The writer was originally an visual artist who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, structured as epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming personal female narrative from humiliation into rebellion. She continued writing, but the next trio of engaging and challenging novels missed the shock and immediacy that the letter form infused into the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her position as a renegade artist who had turned into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on housing investments. It follows that she now wants to explore different types of content, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a time when she asserts that contemporary political climate turns intimate literature obsolete.

Several Eras, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering several time periods – each trapped by their histories. There is the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, moving from the urban environment to rural Connecticut. There is the account of Kraus, in the persona of Catt Greene, reckoning with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her substance-dependent spouse a man named Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a community long abandoned by forward-thinking policies only a short distance from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader drawn to refined literature of the type Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the literary tone of the first section.

Being a reader drawn to honed writing of the variety that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. It exhibits a novel degree of detail that accommodates minutiae, like the container that the young Catt dislodges from ice at the start of the story, assisted by her beloved father. "I found an ice toy!" she says; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". Kraus writes Emma's narrative with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's committed to disjunction, to the unpolished style she echoes from her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her previous novels comes back in the middle section. The protagonist is working on refurbishing 36 run-down apartments in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while moving between the Midwest and the West Coast, unsuccessful in assisting Paul curb his addiction. She experiences powerlessness as Paul transitions between poorly supported positions as an addiction therapist in a society driven by the anger and fear that powers Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation on Twitter, her occupation changed from "writer" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she says that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she may grasp something about an the United States that her Twitter detractors would fail to comprehend, would not even perceive".

The Murder Narrative

Thus we arrive to the homicide in question – and the eponymous day passed by the deceased with the killer and his friends. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and knows hour by hour what occurred as a man named Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He anticipated intimacy but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, mooching around having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by her romantic interest a man named Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.

Fascination and Incompletion

Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and daring boundary-pushing tussle in this section. But I'd have liked her to delve deeper into her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is the character Brittney, who gains dimension partly through the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. The author informs us that Catt speaks to Brittney in detention, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par