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The Four Spent the Day Together centers on characters seeking fresh starts, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into violence. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", making it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Sentences like "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the narrative. Meanwhile, she is embarking on her own fresh start, since this seems a new kind of book – observational, genuinely novelistic. But then it proves to be laden with the same dilemmas and approaches as earlier books.

From Unplanned Author to Iconic Work

Chris Kraus was originally an creative who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming confessional female writing from abjection into assassination. She kept producing books, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels missed the shock and immediacy that the correspondence format imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her position as a maverick maker who had turned into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It makes sense that she presently aims to experiment with new kinds of material, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a moment when she asserts that Trumpian politics turns intimate literature obsolete.

Three Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning several time periods – none able to break free from their backgrounds. We encounter the narrative about a couple named Emma and Jasper, representations of the author's parents, moving from the urban environment to rural Connecticut. There is the narrative of the author, in the guise of Catt Greene, reckoning with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse her husband Paul. And there is the story of the murder of one troubled youth by another in a community long abandoned by progressive politics only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in rural Minnesota.

As a reader drawn to refined literature of the sort Kraus herself typically rejects, I was enchanted by the narrative style of the opening part.

As someone who reads drawn to honed writing of the variety that Kraus tends to eschew, I was captivated by the literary tone of the initial part. It exhibits a fresh level of observation that accommodates minutiae, like the pail that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the opening of the book, helped by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he responds, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". Kraus writes Emma's narrative with interest and closeness. "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 expected this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment audiences such as myself have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her earlier works returns in the second segment. Catt Greene is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between two different states, unsuccessful in assisting Paul control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as her spouse transitions between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a society propelled by the hostility and dread that underpins an electoral success. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her professional designation altered from "novelist" to "property owner" on a reference site. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she says that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an the United States that her social media opponents would not understand, would overlook entirely".

The Murder Narrative

Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the eponymous day spent by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his associates. Kraus utilizes excellent raw material, and knows hour by hour what occurred as a man named Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He anticipated intimacy but seems amiably to have occupied the day alongside her friends, wandering about having his vehicle repaired and paying for snacks and drugs, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I was intrigued by the way that her twin drives towards accurate chronicling and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her individual preoccupations here. The most interesting character is the character Brittney, who gains dimension partially because of Catt seeing herself in her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par