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This latest work features individuals chasing after fresh starts, trying to break free from substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to find hope curdling into conflict. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", transforming it into deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the narrative. And yet, she is embarking on her own fresh start, as this seems a novel form of writing – observational, authentically narrative. However it proves to be packed with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as her previous works.

From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work

Kraus began as an visual artist who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, structured as missives to a distant beloved, converting intimate women's literature from humiliation into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels missed the power and directness that the letter form imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a renegade artist who had evolved into a extensive real estate holder, so there was significant attention on real estate deals. It is logical that she presently aims to try out fresh narrative sources, looking outwards to other people's stories, at a moment when she states that contemporary political climate turns intimate literature redundant.

Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, covering multiple eras – all unable to escape their histories. We encounter the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, transitioning from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Additionally the story of Kraus herself, in the character of Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her addict husband a man named Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one lost young man by another in a community long abandoned by liberal ideals only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in rural Minnesota.

For this reader drawn to polished prose of the kind the author herself tends to eschew, I was enchanted by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.

Being a reader who favors precise prose of the kind that Kraus often disregards, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the initial part. There is a fresh level of observation that makes room for small details, like the pail that the youthful Catt dislodges from ice at the opening of the book, assisted by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like hard candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "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 satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the unpolished style she shares with her idol Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her previous novels comes back in the central part. The protagonist is working on refurbishing 36 run-down apartments in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between Minnesota and LA, unable to aid Paul control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as her spouse cycles through poorly supported positions as an addiction therapist in a environment fueled by the anger and fear that underpins a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her professional designation altered from "novelist" to "property owner" on a reference site. 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 exiting the region, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her online critics would not understand, would not even perceive".

The Killing Story

Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the referenced day spent by the victim with the murderer and his friends. Kraus has great source material, and details moment by moment what transpired when Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, loitering getting his car mended and funding treats and narcotics, before being murdered by her romantic interest Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for fits of anger.

Fascination and Incompletion

Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and daring boundary-pushing clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to delve deeper into her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who comes alive partly through the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual spiraling out of control in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The whole section feels strangely incomplete, to the extent that her narrative ends almost mid-par