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This latest work centers on characters chasing after new beginnings, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to witness hope devolve into violence. The author frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", rendering it deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the text. At the same time, the author herself seems to be making her individual reinvention, as this appears a novel form of writing – observational, truly literary. However it proves to be laden with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as past novels.

From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book

Kraus started out as an artist who became a writer somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of letters to an unreceptive lover, converting intimate women's literature from abjection into defiance. She continued writing, but the three subsequent compelling and abrasive novels lacked the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a renegade artist who had turned into a extensive real estate holder, so there was much discussion on property transactions. It is logical that she now wants to try out different types of content, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a period in which she states that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing redundant.

Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering several time periods – none able to break free from their histories. There is the tale of characters Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, moving from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the story of Kraus herself, in the guise of Catt Greene, confronting the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her substance-dependent spouse Paul. The third thread involves the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a locality long abandoned by progressive politics only a short distance from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.

For this reader drawn to refined literature of the type Kraus herself typically rejects, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.

As someone who reads who favors precise prose of the kind that the author usually avoids, I was won over by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. There is a new quality of attentiveness that makes room for small details, like the bucket that the young Catt dislodges from ice at the start of the story, aided by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she declares; "a great plaything", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms tumbling in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was fated to feel let down when I wished this fresh tone could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she dislikes the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the unpolished style she shares with her idol Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works comes back in the central part. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unsuccessful in assisting Paul control his drinking. She feels helpless as Paul moves between low-resource employment as an substance abuse counselor in a world driven by the rage and anxiety that powers Trump's victory. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her listed profession modified from "novelist" to "landlord" on Wikipedia. Kraus still seems to care a little too much about this. At one point she states that she's researching the homicide so that before exiting the region, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".

The Killing Story

So then we come to the homicide in question – and the eponymous day experienced by the victim with the killer and his associates. Kraus has excellent raw material, and reconstructs step by step what happened when Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day with her companions, loitering having his vehicle repaired and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by her romantic interest Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has repeatedly received inpatient care for fits of anger.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

The protagonist becomes fixated by the narrative, and I found myself captivated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards ethical reporting and reckless transgression clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to go further into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who comes alive partly through Catt seeing herself in her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus notes that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par