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This latest work centers on characters pursuing new beginnings, trying to break free from addictions or abusive marriages, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "new beginning", making it deliberately jaded through its repetitions. Sentences like "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the narrative. At the same time, the author herself seems to be making her own fresh start, since this appears a different type of work – observational, truly literary. But then it proves to be laden with the familiar conflicts and approaches as her previous works.

From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic

The writer began as an creative who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, structured as letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming confessional female writing from self-debasement into rebellion. She continued writing, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels did not possess the impact and rawness that the epistolary style infused into the tone of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a renegade artist who had become a extensive real estate holder, so there was much discussion on property transactions. It follows that she now wants to explore fresh narrative sources, looking outwards to other people's stories, at a period in which she states that Trumpian politics makes confessional writing obsolete.

Three Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, encompassing three generations – all unable to escape their histories. We encounter the story of characters Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, relocating from the urban environment to rural Connecticut. Then there is the account of Kraus, in the character of Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. The third thread involves the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a town largely deserted by forward-thinking policies only 80 miles from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.

As a reader drawn to refined literature of the type Kraus herself often avoids, I was enchanted by the narrative style of the opening part.

Being a reader who favors honed writing of the style that the author often disregards, I was seduced by the literary tone of the opening segment. There is a novel degree of detail that makes room for trivial aspects, like the container that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the beginning of the narrative, assisted by her beloved father. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms tumbling in their mouths like sweet treats". The author narrates the tale of Emma with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was bound to become frustrated when I expected this different style could continue through the novel. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disjunction, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her past books comes back in the middle section. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing 36 run-down apartments in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between the Midwest and the West Coast, unsuccessful in assisting her husband control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as Paul transitions between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a environment driven by the rage and anxiety that powers an electoral success. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on social media, her listed profession modified from "author" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she remarks that she's looking into the killing so that before leaving Minnesota, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her online critics would be unable to grasp, would not even perceive".

The Killing Story

So then we come to the homicide in question – and the referenced day experienced by the deceased with the perpetrator and his companions. The author possesses compelling foundational content, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she marketed explicit images. He sought a sexual encounter but seems affably to have spent the day alongside her friends, wandering about getting his car mended and covering the cost of food and substances, before being murdered by her romantic interest a man named Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking wrestle in this part. But I'd have liked her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who gains dimension in part due to Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in jail, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par