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The new book is populated with individuals seeking fresh starts, trying to break free from drugs or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Sentences like "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the text. At the same time, Kraus herself seems to be making her individual reinvention, since this seems a different type of work – observational, truly literary. But then it proves to be laden with the familiar conflicts and approaches as past novels.

From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic

Kraus started out as an creative who became a writer somewhat by chance with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, converting intimate women's literature from self-debasement into rebellion. She continued writing, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the power and directness that the letter form infused into the tone of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her identity as a maverick maker who had become a extensive real estate holder, so there was much discussion on housing investments. It follows that she now wants to experiment with different types of content, turning outward to external narratives, at a moment when she asserts that Trumpian politics makes confessional writing unnecessary.

Three Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning multiple eras – each trapped by their histories. The book includes the tale of a couple named Emma and Jasper, based on Kraus's parents, relocating from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. Then there is the account of Kraus, in the character of Catt Greene, confronting the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one directionless individual by another in a town long abandoned by liberal ideals only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in rural Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader fond of honed writing of the type Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the opening part.

As a reader who favors precise prose of the kind that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was won over by the storytelling approach of the initial part. It exhibits a new quality of attentiveness that accommodates small details, like the pail that the protagonist as a child frees from the ice at the opening of the book, aided by her beloved father. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words tumbling in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."

Frustration and Disruption

I was fated to feel let down when I wished this different style could last out the book. The author states here that she resents the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to disjunction, to the unpolished style she has in common with her hero Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books reasserts itself in the central part. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between the Midwest and the West Coast, unsuccessful in assisting Paul curb his addiction. She feels helpless as her spouse moves between poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a society driven by the hostility and dread that underpins a political win. There are several pages about Catt's social media ostracism on Twitter, her professional designation altered from "writer" to "landlord" on a reference site. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. At one point she states that she's looking into the killing so that before exiting the region, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her Twitter detractors would be unable to grasp, would overlook entirely".

The Killing Story

Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the titular day experienced by the murdered individual with the murderer and his companions. The author possesses great source material, and details moment by moment what happened when Brandon came to visit Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by her romantic interest Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.

Fascination and Incompletion

Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and audacious rule-breaking wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her individual preoccupations here. The compelling persona is Brittney, who gains dimension partly through Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl going off the rails in a struggling, neglected community. The author informs us that Catt speaks to Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par