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The Four Spent the Day Together features protagonists chasing after fresh starts, trying to break free from drugs or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into aggression. Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "clean slate", rendering it intentionally weary through recurring use. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the story. And yet, the author herself appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, since this presents as a new kind of book – observational, genuinely novelistic. However it proves to be packed with the familiar conflicts and approaches as her previous works.

From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic

Kraus was originally an visual artist who became a writer almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, which was composed of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming intimate women's literature from self-debasement into assassination. She continued writing, but the next trio of engaging and challenging novels lacked the power and directness that the correspondence format brought to the voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her role as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a extensive real estate holder, so there was significant attention on real estate deals. It follows that she presently aims to explore fresh narrative sources, turning outward to external narratives, at a period in which she claims that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing obsolete.

Several Eras, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning several time periods – none able to break free from their pasts. There is the tale of characters Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, moving from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. Then there is the account of Kraus, in the guise of Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. The third thread involves the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a community largely deserted by liberal ideals only a short distance from Catt's cottage in a remote part of Minnesota.

As a reader fond of polished prose of the kind Kraus tends to eschew, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.

As a reader who appreciates honed writing of the kind that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was seduced by the literary tone of the opening segment. There is a fresh level of observation that makes room for small details, like the pail that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, assisted by her beloved father. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words circulating in their speech like sweet treats". She tells Emma's narrative with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."

Frustration and Disruption

I was fated to feel let down when I hoped this new voice could persist to the end. Kraus notes here that she resents the pleasure audiences such as myself have gotten from I Love Dick; she's devoted to fragmentation, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her idol Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works reasserts itself in the central part. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid Paul manage his alcohol use. She feels helpless as her spouse moves between poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a society driven by the rage and anxiety that drives a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt being cancelled on social media, her professional designation altered from "author" to "property owner" on a reference site. Kraus still seems to care a little too much about this. In a moment she states that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her social media opponents would not understand, would overlook entirely".

The Killing Story

Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the referenced day passed by the victim with the killer and his companions. The author possesses great source material, and knows hour by hour what occurred as a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she sold sex pictures. He was hoping for sex but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, mooching around fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by her romantic interest a man named Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt gets obsessed by the narrative, and I found myself captivated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing wrestle in this part. But I'd have liked her to delve deeper into her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is Brittney, who gains dimension partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par