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The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with characters pursuing new beginnings, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. Chris Kraus often employs the phrase "fresh start", making it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Examples include "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the text. Meanwhile, she seems to be making her personal new beginning, as this presents as a different type of work – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. However it proves to be filled with the recurring issues and aesthetics as earlier books.

From Unplanned Author to Renowned Book

Kraus began as an artist who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, elevating confessional female writing from humiliation into assassination. She kept producing books, but the following three engaging and challenging novels lacked the power and directness that the correspondence format imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her role as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It makes sense that she currently desires to try out different types of content, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a time when she states that contemporary political climate turns intimate literature redundant.

Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning several time periods – each trapped by their backgrounds. The book includes the tale of characters Emma and Jasper, based on her own mother and father, transitioning from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. Then there is the account of Kraus, in the guise of Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction her husband Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a locality mostly forsaken by progressive politics only 80 miles from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.

For this reader fond of polished prose of the sort Kraus typically rejects, I was captivated by the narrative style of the opening part.

Being a reader drawn to precise prose of the style that the author tends to eschew, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. There is a fresh level of observation that makes room for trivial aspects, like the bucket that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the start of the story, aided by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she says; "a great plaything", he replies, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". Kraus writes Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not hers, exactly."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was bound to become frustrated when I expected this different style could persist to the end. Kraus notes here that she resents the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's committed to fragmentation, to the messy artistic approach she shares with her inspiration writer Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her past books returns in the middle section. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid Paul control his drinking. She feels helpless as her spouse transitions between underfunded jobs as an addiction therapist in a world propelled by the rage and anxiety that drives an electoral success. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her occupation changed from "writer" to "landlord" on a reference site. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she states that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she may grasp something about an the nation that her Twitter detractors would be unable to grasp, would overlook entirely".

The Homicide Account

Thus we arrive to the homicide in question – and the titular day experienced by the victim with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what occurred as a man named Brandon came to meet Brittney after meeting her on an app where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but seems amiably to have occupied the day alongside her friends, mooching around getting his car mended and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by her romantic interest Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that her twin drives towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression tussle in this section. Yet I wished her to delve deeper into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who comes alive in part due to the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl going off the rails in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the point that her narrative ends almost mid-par