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The new book centers on characters pursuing clean slates, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", rendering it deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Sentences like "He could make a fresh start" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the narrative. At the same time, the author herself is embarking on her own fresh start, since this seems a new kind of book – fact-based, truly literary. Yet it turns out to be packed with the familiar conflicts and approaches as earlier books.

From Unplanned Author to Iconic Work

Kraus began as an artist who entered the literary world unintentionally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, elevating personal female narrative from humiliation into assassination. She continued writing, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the power and directness that the letter form imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her role as a renegade artist who had evolved into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was considerable focus on property transactions. It makes sense that she currently desires to try out fresh narrative sources, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a time when she states that contemporary political climate renders personal narrative unnecessary.

Multiple Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering several time periods – all unable to escape their histories. The book includes the tale of a couple named Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, relocating from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. And there is the account of a killing of one troubled youth by another in a locality mostly forsaken by liberal ideals only a short distance from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.

For this reader fond of polished prose of the kind Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening part.

As a reader drawn to crafted language of the kind that Kraus herself often disregards, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the first section. There is a fresh level of observation that makes room for small details, like the pail that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the start of the story, aided by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she says; "a nice toy", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms circulating in their speech like hard candy". Kraus writes Emma's story with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was bound to become frustrated when I hoped this different style could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she dislikes the satisfaction readers like me have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her hero Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her earlier works comes back in the second segment. Catt is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the city's most challenging districts while moving between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid her husband control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as Paul cycles through underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a environment driven by the rage and anxiety that underpins a political win. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on social media, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. She still gives the impression to invest excessive emotion about this. On one occasion she states that she's investigating the murder so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her Twitter detractors would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".

The Killing Story

So then we come to the actual killing – and the referenced day experienced by the victim with the murderer and his companions. Kraus utilizes compelling foundational content, and knows hour by hour what happened when 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 alongside her friends, wandering about getting his car mended and paying for snacks and drugs, before being killed by gunfire by her romantic interest Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for fits of anger.

Fascination and Incompletion

Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and audacious rule-breaking tussle in this section. But I'd have liked her to delve deeper into her own obsessions here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid partly through Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus notes that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par