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This latest work centers on protagonists seeking new beginnings, attempting to leave behind addictions or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", making it deliberately jaded through its repetitions. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the story. Meanwhile, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, because this seems a novel form of writing – observational, truly literary. Yet it reveals itself to be laden with the same dilemmas and styles as her previous works.

From Unplanned Author to Renowned Book

Chris Kraus began as an visual artist who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, structured as epistles to an unresponsive love interest, elevating personal female narrative from self-debasement into rebellion. She kept producing books, but the following three engaging and challenging novels did not possess the power and directness that the epistolary style imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a renegade artist who had become a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was significant attention on real estate deals. It follows that she now wants to explore new kinds of material, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a moment when she claims that current political era makes confessional writing redundant.

Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing multiple eras – each trapped by their histories. The book includes the tale of characters Emma and Jasper, representations of the author's parents, transitioning from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. There is the account of Kraus, in the persona of a figure named Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband Paul. And there is the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a town mostly forsaken by progressive politics only a short distance from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.

For this reader attracted to honed writing of the sort Kraus typically rejects, I was captivated by the narrative style of the first section.

Being a reader drawn to honed writing of the variety that the author tends to eschew, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the initial part. There is a new quality of attentiveness that makes room for small details, like the container that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the opening of the book, helped by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like hard candy". The author narrates Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this new voice could persist to the end. The author states here that she resents the enjoyment audiences such as myself have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to fragmentation, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her hero writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books reasserts itself in the second segment. Catt is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between two different states, unsuccessful in assisting her husband manage his alcohol use. She feels helpless as Paul moves between poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a society propelled by the rage and anxiety that underpins an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation 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 looking into the killing so that before leaving Minnesota, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her Twitter detractors would not understand, would overlook entirely".

The Homicide Account

So then we come to the murder itself – and the referenced day experienced by the victim with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus utilizes great source material, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as the victim Brandon came to visit Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He anticipated intimacy but appears congenially to have passed the day alongside her friends, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being murdered by Brittney's boyfriend a man named Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and daring boundary-pushing tussle in this section. But I'd have liked her to explore more thoroughly her own obsessions here. The compelling persona is Brittney, who comes alive partially because of Catt seeing herself in her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a struggling, neglected community. The author informs us that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par