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The new book features protagonists chasing after fresh starts, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to see hope turn into aggression. Chris Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into intentionally weary through recurring use. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the text. And yet, she seems to be making her own fresh start, since this presents as a different type of work – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. However it proves to be laden with the recurring issues and aesthetics as past novels.

From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic

Kraus was originally an artist who entered the literary world somewhat by chance with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, elevating personal female narrative from abjection into defiance. She persisted as a writer, but the following three engaging and challenging novels lacked the power and directness that the epistolary style infused into the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her position as a renegade artist who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It follows that she presently aims to experiment with different types of content, looking outwards to other people's stories, at a time when she states that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative redundant.

Several Eras, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, spanning three generations – all unable to escape their backgrounds. We encounter the story of characters Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, transitioning from the Bronx to rural Connecticut. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of Catt Greene, confronting the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one troubled youth by another in a community mostly forsaken by forward-thinking policies only a short distance from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.

For this reader drawn to honed writing of the type the author herself often avoids, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.

Being a reader drawn to honed writing of the style that the author often disregards, I was captivated by the storytelling approach of the first section. It possesses a novel degree of detail that allows space for trivial aspects, like the pail that the youthful Catt pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, assisted by her cherished parent. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she says; "a lovely toy", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". Kraus writes Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was bound to become frustrated when I hoped this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she dislikes the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's committed to disjunction, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her hero writer Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her earlier works comes back in the central part. Catt is trying to renovate multiple decrepit residences in the city's most challenging districts while shuttling between Minnesota and LA, unable to aid Paul curb his addiction. She experiences powerlessness as her spouse transitions between low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a society fueled by the anger and fear that powers a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her occupation changed from "author" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to care a little too much about this. In a moment she states that she's looking into the killing so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".

The Murder Narrative

Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the titular day spent by the deceased with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus has great source material, and knows hour by hour what occurred as the victim Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He anticipated intimacy but seems amiably to have occupied the day with her companions, wandering about fixing his automobile and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by her romantic interest Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I was intrigued by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking clash in this segment. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who becomes vivid partly through the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman derailing in a difficult, overlooked locality. The author informs us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in jail, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par