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The new book centers on individuals chasing after new beginnings, struggling to escape addictions or toxic relationships, only to see hope turn into violence. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "new beginning", making it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Sentences like "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They chose to begin anew" appear throughout the text. At the same time, she seems to be making her individual reinvention, because this presents as a new kind of book – fact-based, truly literary. But then it proves to be filled with the familiar conflicts and approaches as her previous works.

From Unplanned Author to Iconic Work

Chris Kraus started out as an visual artist who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of letters to an unreceptive lover, converting confessional female writing from humiliation into defiance. She kept producing books, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels did not possess the shock and immediacy that the epistolary style infused into the narrative voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had become a major property owner, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It follows that she presently aims to try out new kinds of material, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a period in which she states that current political era turns intimate literature obsolete.

Several Eras, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing three generations – each trapped by their histories. There is the tale of Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, transitioning from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. Then there is the narrative of the author, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one directionless individual by another in a locality long abandoned by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in a remote part of Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader drawn to honed writing of the type Kraus typically rejects, I was enchanted by the literary tone of the opening part.

As a reader who appreciates precise prose of the style that Kraus usually avoids, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. There is a new quality of attentiveness that accommodates small details, like the container that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, helped by her adored dad. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he replies, "the nuanced interpretations of terms circulating in their speech like piece candy". The author narrates Emma's narrative with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus says here that she resents the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels comes back in the middle section. Catt Greene is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between two different states, unable to aid her husband manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as Paul moves between underfunded jobs as an addiction therapist in a world driven by the hostility and dread that powers an electoral success. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt's social media ostracism on social media, her occupation changed from "writer" to "landlord" on a reference site. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she says that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an the United States that her online critics would not understand, would not even see".

The Killing Story

Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the referenced day passed by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his associates. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what transpired when the victim Brandon came to visit Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He anticipated intimacy but appears congenially to have passed the day with her companions, loitering fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being shot by her romantic interest Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has often been institutionalized for aggressive outbursts.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt develops an obsession by the account, and I was intrigued by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her individual preoccupations here. The most interesting character is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the point that her narrative ends almost mid-par