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This latest work centers on characters seeking new beginnings, trying to break free from substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to see hope turn into conflict. Kraus often employs the phrase "new beginning", rendering it deliberately jaded through its repetitions. Phrases such as "He could make a fresh start" and "They decided to make a fresh start" recur in the narrative. At the same time, Kraus herself is embarking on her personal new beginning, because this appears a different type of work – documentarian, authentically narrative. However it reveals itself to be packed with the same dilemmas and styles as her previous works.

From Unplanned Author to Iconic Work

Chris Kraus was originally an creative who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, structured as epistles to an unresponsive love interest, converting intimate women's literature from abjection into assassination. She kept producing books, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels missed the impact and rawness that the epistolary style brought to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her position as a renegade artist who had evolved into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It makes sense that she now wants to experiment with different types of content, looking outwards to external narratives, at a period in which she claims that contemporary political climate renders personal narrative unnecessary.

Several Eras, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning multiple eras – each trapped by their histories. We encounter the story of Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, relocating from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. There is the account of Kraus, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the belated success of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction her husband Paul. The third thread involves the story of the murder of one lost young man by another in a community long abandoned by progressive politics only 80 miles from Catt's cottage in the Minnesota countryside.

From my perspective as a reader drawn to honed writing of the kind the author herself typically rejects, I was seduced by the narrative style of the initial segment.

Being a reader who appreciates precise prose of the variety that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was seduced by the literary tone of the initial part. It exhibits a novel degree of detail that makes room for small details, like the container that the youthful Catt pries out of frozen water at the beginning of the narrative, assisted by her cherished parent. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he replies, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like hard candy". She tells Emma's narrative with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was destined to be disappointed when I hoped this different style could last out the book. The author states here that she dislikes the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's devoted to fragmentation, to the unpolished style she shares with her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her earlier works comes back in the middle section. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between two different states, unable to aid Paul control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as her spouse transitions between underfunded jobs as an addiction therapist in a environment fueled by the rage and anxiety that powers Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on Twitter, her occupation changed from "writer" to "property owner" on Wikipedia. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she remarks that she's looking into the killing so that before exiting the region, "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 experienced by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus utilizes great source material, and reconstructs step by step what transpired when Brandon came to visit Brittney after meeting her on an app where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, loitering getting his car mended and funding treats and narcotics, before being murdered by Brittney's boyfriend a man named Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is Brittney, who becomes vivid partially because of Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl going off the rails in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus notes that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par