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This latest work features individuals seeking clean slates, struggling to escape substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to see hope turn into conflict. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", rendering it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Sentences like "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They chose to begin anew" appear throughout the narrative. At the same time, she appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, since this presents as a new kind of book – observational, authentically narrative. However it turns out to be laden with the familiar conflicts and styles as past novels.

From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book

Kraus was originally an creative who became a writer somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, elevating intimate women's literature from abjection into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the three subsequent compelling and abrasive novels missed the power and directness that the correspondence format imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her position as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It is logical that she currently desires to try out different types of content, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a period in which she claims that contemporary political climate renders personal narrative unnecessary.

Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning several time periods – all unable to escape their pasts. There is the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, representations of the author's parents, moving from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one directionless individual by another in a town mostly forsaken by progressive politics only 80 miles from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.

For this reader attracted to honed writing of the type the author herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the narrative style of the initial segment.

As someone who reads who favors honed writing of the kind that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. It exhibits a fresh level of observation that accommodates trivial aspects, like the container that the youthful Catt pries out of frozen water at the beginning of the narrative, aided by her cherished parent. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she says; "a great plaything", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not precisely her dream."

Frustration and Disruption

I was bound to become frustrated when I expected this new voice could continue through the novel. The author states here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disjunction, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her inspiration Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels reasserts itself in the second segment. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid Paul manage his alcohol use. She feels helpless as her spouse moves between low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a environment fueled by the anger and fear that powers an electoral success. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her occupation changed from "writer" to "landlord" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to invest excessive emotion about this. On one occasion she remarks that she's researching the homicide so that before leaving Minnesota, "she could potentially understand something about an the United States that her social media opponents would not understand, would overlook entirely".

The Homicide Account

So then we come to the actual killing – and the referenced day experienced by the victim with the killer and his associates. Kraus has great source material, and details moment by moment what transpired when a man named Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but appears congenially to have passed the day with her companions, loitering getting his car mended and paying for snacks and drugs, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's partner Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has often been institutionalized for violent rage.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt gets obsessed by the narrative, and I was intrigued by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards responsible documentation and daring boundary-pushing clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to explore more thoroughly her own obsessions here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who gains dimension in part due to Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The whole section feels strangely incomplete, to the extent that her narrative ends almost mid-par