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The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with protagonists pursuing clean slates, trying to break free from substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", rendering it deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Sentences like "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the story. Meanwhile, Kraus herself is embarking on her own fresh start, as this presents as a novel form of writing – observational, authentically narrative. Yet it proves to be packed with the recurring issues and aesthetics as her previous works.

From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic

Kraus was originally an visual artist who entered the literary world somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of letters to an unreceptive lover, converting confessional female writing from self-debasement into rebellion. She continued writing, but the following three fascinating and rebarbative novels did not possess the power and directness that the letter form imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her role as a maverick maker who had evolved into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was much discussion on property transactions. It follows that she currently desires to explore fresh narrative sources, looking outwards to external narratives, at a moment when she claims that current political era renders personal narrative obsolete.

Several Eras, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, encompassing several time periods – all unable to escape their pasts. The book includes the story of characters Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, transitioning from the New York borough to rural Connecticut. Additionally the narrative of the author, in the guise of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction her husband Paul. And there is the narrative of a homicide of one directionless individual by another in a town long abandoned by liberal ideals only a short distance from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader fond of honed writing of the sort Kraus herself often avoids, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the first section.

As a reader who appreciates crafted language of the style that the author often disregards, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the first section. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that allows space for minutiae, like the pail that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the opening of the book, helped by her cherished parent. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms tumbling in their mouths like piece candy". Kraus writes the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not hers, exactly."

Frustration and Disruption

I was destined to be disappointed when I expected this new voice could continue through the novel. The author states here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment readers like me have gotten from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she shares with her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her past books comes back in the second segment. Catt is working on refurbishing 36 run-down apartments in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, failing to help Paul manage his alcohol use. She is overwhelmed as Paul cycles through poorly supported positions as an recovery specialist in a environment driven by the anger and fear that drives Trump's victory. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "property owner" on Wikipedia. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she states that she's researching the homicide so that before leaving Minnesota, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".

The Murder Narrative

Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the referenced day passed by the deceased with the perpetrator and his friends. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and knows hour by hour what happened when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after meeting her on an app where she sold sex pictures. He was hoping for sex but seems amiably to have occupied the day alongside her friends, mooching around getting his car mended and funding treats and narcotics, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's partner 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 story, and I was fascinated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression clash in this segment. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her individual preoccupations here. The compelling persona is Brittney herself, who gains dimension in part due to Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus notes that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The whole section feels strangely incomplete, to the degree that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par