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The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with protagonists pursuing clean slates, trying to break free from addictions or harmful partnerships, only to find hope curdling into violence. The author frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", transforming it into willfully cynical through constant reiteration. Sentences like "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the story. At the same time, the author herself appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, as this seems a new kind of book – documentarian, authentically narrative. But then it reveals itself to be packed with the recurring issues and styles as past novels.

From Unplanned Author to Iconic Work

The writer was originally an artist who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, structured as epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming intimate women's literature from humiliation into assassination. She persisted as a writer, but the next trio of compelling and abrasive novels missed the impact and rawness that the epistolary style brought to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her position as a maverick maker who had turned into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It makes sense that she currently desires to experiment with new kinds of material, looking outwards to external narratives, at a period in which she states that Trumpian politics makes confessional writing unnecessary.

Several Eras, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, spanning multiple eras – all unable to escape their pasts. The book includes the tale of a couple named Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, relocating from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Then there is the account of Kraus, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse her husband Paul. The third thread involves the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a locality largely deserted by forward-thinking policies only 80 miles from Catt's cottage in a remote part of Minnesota.

For this reader drawn to polished prose of the sort the author herself often avoids, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.

As a reader who favors honed writing of the style that Kraus often disregards, I was captivated by the literary tone of the first section. There is a novel degree of detail that accommodates minutiae, like the container that the protagonist as a child pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, helped by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he replies, "the nuanced interpretations of terms circulating in their speech like sweet treats". She tells Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not entirely her own."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was destined to be disappointed when I expected this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus says here that she resents the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disjunction, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her idol author Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her past books returns in the second segment. Catt is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between Minnesota and LA, unable to aid Paul control his drinking. She feels helpless as Paul cycles through poorly supported positions as an recovery specialist in a society fueled by the anger and fear that underpins an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her professional designation altered from "novelist" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. Kraus still seems to invest excessive emotion about this. In a moment she says that she's researching the homicide so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would not even perceive".

The Murder Narrative

So then we come to the actual killing – and the titular day experienced by the murdered individual with the murderer and his associates. The author possesses compelling foundational content, and details moment by moment what transpired when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but seems affably to have spent the day with her companions, mooching around getting his car mended and funding treats and narcotics, before being killed by gunfire by her romantic interest a man named Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I was intrigued by the way that her twin drives towards accurate chronicling and daring boundary-pushing clash in this segment. But I'd have liked her to delve deeper into her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who gains dimension partly through Catt seeing herself in her – another bright, bullied girl going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus notes that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The complete segment feels curiously unresolved, to the extent that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par