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The new book is populated with characters pursuing fresh starts, trying to break free from addictions or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into conflict. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", transforming it into deliberately jaded through its repetitions. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the story. And yet, the author herself seems to be making her individual reinvention, as this seems a different type of work – documentarian, genuinely novelistic. But then it proves to be packed with the recurring issues and aesthetics as earlier books.

From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book

Chris Kraus started out as an artist who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, converting confessional female writing from abjection into defiance. She persisted as a writer, but the following three engaging and challenging novels missed the shock and immediacy that the epistolary style imparted to the voice 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 much discussion on property transactions. It makes sense that she currently desires to experiment with different types of content, looking outwards to other people's stories, at a time when she states that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing obsolete.

Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing three generations – each trapped by their histories. The book includes the story of characters Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, relocating from the New York borough to rural Connecticut. Then there is the account of Kraus, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction her husband Paul. The third thread involves the narrative of a homicide of one troubled youth by another in a community long abandoned by progressive politics only a short distance from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.

As a reader drawn to honed writing of the type Kraus often avoids, I was enchanted by the literary tone of the opening part.

As someone who reads drawn to crafted language of the variety that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was seduced by the literary tone of the first section. There is a novel degree of detail that makes room for trivial aspects, like the bucket that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the start of the story, helped by her cherished parent. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". Kraus writes Emma's story with curiosity and intimacy. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not precisely her dream."

Frustration and Disruption

I was fated to feel let down when I wished this different style could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she resents the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disjunction, to the unpolished style she echoes from her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works comes back in the second segment. Catt is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between the Midwest and the West Coast, unsuccessful in assisting Paul manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as Paul moves between underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a world driven by the hostility and dread that drives a political win. There are several pages about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her professional designation altered from "author" to "property owner" on a reference site. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. At one point she states that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would not even perceive".

The Killing Story

So then we come to the actual killing – and the referenced day spent by the victim with the killer and his associates. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and knows hour by hour what transpired when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He was hoping for sex but appears congenially to have passed the day alongside her friends, loitering fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by her romantic interest Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to delve deeper into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who comes alive partially because of Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus notes that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in detention, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the point that her narrative ends almost mid-par