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The new book is populated with individuals chasing after new beginnings, attempting to leave behind addictions or harmful partnerships, only to find hope curdling into violence. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", rendering it deliberately jaded through its repetitions. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They chose to begin anew" appear throughout the text. And yet, Kraus herself is embarking on her own fresh start, as this seems a new kind of book – observational, truly literary. However it reveals itself to be filled with the familiar conflicts and aesthetics as earlier books.

From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic

Kraus was originally an creative who entered the literary world unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, elevating confessional female writing from humiliation into assassination. She continued writing, but the following three fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the power and directness that the letter form brought to the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a maverick maker who had evolved into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was significant attention on real estate deals. It follows that she presently aims to explore fresh narrative sources, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a moment when she asserts that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing unnecessary.

Several Eras, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing three generations – none able to break free from their backgrounds. There is the story of Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, relocating from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. Then there is the account of Kraus, in the persona of Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction her husband Paul. The third thread involves the narrative of a homicide of one directionless individual by another in a locality largely deserted by liberal ideals only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.

For this reader drawn to polished prose of the kind the author herself typically rejects, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.

Being a reader who appreciates honed writing of the style that the author usually avoids, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. There is a novel degree of detail that allows space for small details, like the container that the young Catt dislodges from ice at the start of the story, aided by her adored dad. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she says; "a nice toy", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words circulating in their speech like hard candy". She tells Emma's narrative with curiosity and intimacy. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not entirely her own."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was fated to feel let down when I wished this different style could persist to the end. The author states here that she is annoyed by the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disjunction, to the messy artistic approach she shares with her hero Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her previous novels reasserts itself in the middle section. The protagonist is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between Minnesota and LA, unable to aid 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 drives an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her professional designation altered from "author" to "property owner" on Wikipedia. Kraus still seems to care a little too much about this. On one occasion she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an the nation that her social media opponents would fail to comprehend, would not even see".

The Killing Story

So then we come to the actual killing – and the eponymous day experienced by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus has great source material, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as Brandon came to visit Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He anticipated intimacy but seems affably to have spent the day alongside her friends, loitering fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being shot by her romantic interest Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that her twin drives towards responsible documentation and daring boundary-pushing tussle in this section. But I'd have liked her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The standout figure is Brittney, who gains dimension in part due to Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman derailing in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in jail, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par