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The new book features protagonists pursuing clean slates, attempting to leave behind addictions or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into violence. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", rendering it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the text. Meanwhile, Kraus herself is embarking on her individual reinvention, because this appears a different type of work – fact-based, authentically narrative. However it reveals itself to be laden with the familiar conflicts and approaches as past novels.

From Accidental Writer to Renowned Book

Chris Kraus was originally an visual artist who entered the literary world somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, converting confessional female writing from self-debasement into defiance. She persisted as a writer, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels did not possess the impact and rawness that the epistolary style imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It follows that she now wants to try out new kinds of material, turning outward to external narratives, at a moment when she states that Trumpian politics makes confessional writing unnecessary.

Several Eras, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, encompassing multiple eras – none able to break free from their backgrounds. We encounter the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, moving from the New York borough to rural Connecticut. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the guise of Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction her husband Paul. And there is the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a town mostly forsaken by progressive politics only 80 miles from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.

For this reader fond of polished prose of the kind Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the narrative style of the initial segment.

As a reader drawn to precise prose of the style that Kraus tends to eschew, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. It exhibits a novel degree of detail that makes room for minutiae, like the bucket that the youthful Catt dislodges from ice at the beginning of the narrative, helped by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she declares; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". Kraus writes Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not hers, exactly."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was destined to be disappointed when I expected this fresh tone could last out the book. The author states here that she is annoyed by the satisfaction audiences such as myself have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she shares with her hero Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books reasserts itself in the second segment. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between Minnesota and LA, unsuccessful in assisting Paul control his drinking. She feels helpless as Paul transitions between poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a environment driven by the hostility and dread that powers a political win. There are several pages about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her occupation changed from "writer" to "real estate holder" on a reference site. She still gives the impression 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 could potentially understand something about an the United States that her social media opponents would be unable to grasp, would overlook entirely".

The Killing Story

Then we reach to the murder itself – and the referenced day experienced by the victim with the killer and his associates. Kraus has excellent raw material, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as the victim Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day with her companions, loitering fixing his automobile and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

The protagonist becomes fixated by the account, and I was fascinated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression tussle in this section. But I'd have liked her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who comes alive partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus notes that Catt speaks to Brittney in jail, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par