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The Four Spent the Day Together centers on characters chasing after new beginnings, attempting to leave behind drugs or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. Chris Kraus often employs the phrase "fresh start", making it intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the story. At the same time, the author herself is embarking on her own fresh start, because this presents as a new kind of book – documentarian, authentically narrative. However it proves to be laden with the same dilemmas and styles as earlier books.

From Accidental Writer to Renowned Book

Chris Kraus started out as an visual artist who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming confessional female writing from abjection into rebellion. She continued writing, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels lacked the shock and immediacy that the letter form infused into the narrative voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a extensive real estate holder, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It follows that she presently aims to try out new kinds of material, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a moment when she asserts that current political era turns intimate literature redundant.

Several Eras, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering three generations – none able to break free from their backgrounds. The book includes the story of characters Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, relocating from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. There is the narrative of the author, in the guise of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her addict husband Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a community largely deserted by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.

For this reader fond of refined literature of the sort Kraus herself typically rejects, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the first section.

As someone who reads who appreciates honed writing of the variety that Kraus herself often disregards, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the first section. It possesses a novel degree of detail that allows space for small details, like the pail 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 lovely toy", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words circulating in their speech like hard candy". Kraus writes the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not precisely her dream."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was fated to feel let down when I wished this different style could persist to the end. Kraus says here that she is annoyed by the pleasure audiences such as myself have taken from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her past books comes back in the second segment. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, failing to help Paul control his drinking. She feels helpless as Paul transitions between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a society propelled by the anger and fear that powers a political win. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her occupation changed from "writer" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to care a little too much about this. On one occasion she states that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she may grasp something about an the United States that her social media opponents would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".

The Murder Narrative

Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the referenced day spent by the deceased with the killer and his associates. The author possesses excellent raw material, and knows hour by hour what occurred as a man named Brandon came to meet Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day with her companions, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being murdered by Brittney's partner Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for fits of anger.

Fascination and Incompletion

Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and audacious rule-breaking wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her own obsessions here. The most interesting character is Brittney herself, who gains dimension partly through Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman spiraling out of control in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels curiously unresolved, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par