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This latest work centers on individuals pursuing new beginnings, trying to break free from substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to see hope turn into violence. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", making it deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Sentences like "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the text. And yet, she is embarking on her personal new beginning, as this presents as a different type of work – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. However it reveals itself to be filled with the familiar conflicts and styles as past novels.

From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book

Chris Kraus began as an visual artist who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, structured as epistles to an unresponsive love interest, elevating intimate women's literature from self-debasement into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels missed the shock and immediacy that the letter form imparted to the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a renegade artist who had turned into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on real estate deals. It makes sense that she currently desires to experiment with fresh narrative sources, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a period in which she asserts that current political era makes confessional writing redundant.

Several Eras, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering several time periods – each trapped by their pasts. The book includes the story of Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, relocating from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. There is the account of Kraus, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, confronting the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one troubled youth by another in a locality mostly forsaken by liberal ideals only a short distance from Catt's rural residence in the Minnesota countryside.

For this reader attracted to honed writing of the kind Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the first section.

Being a reader who appreciates precise prose of the variety that the author often disregards, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. It exhibits a fresh level of observation that allows space for small details, like the container that the young Catt frees from the ice at the start of the story, helped by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he replies, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like hard candy". Kraus writes Emma's narrative with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not hers, exactly."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was fated to feel let down when I expected this new voice could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she dislikes the satisfaction readers like me have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her idol author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels returns in the central part. The protagonist is attempting to do up three dozen dilapidated units in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between Minnesota and LA, unable to aid Paul control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as Paul moves between poorly supported positions as an addiction therapist in a environment propelled by the rage and anxiety that drives an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on Twitter, her professional designation altered from "novelist" to "landlord" on Wikipedia. She still gives the impression to care a little too much about this. In a moment she remarks that she's looking into the killing so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an the United States that her social media opponents would be unable to grasp, would overlook entirely".

The Homicide Account

Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the referenced day experienced by the victim with the killer and his companions. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and knows hour by hour what occurred as a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He anticipated intimacy but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, loitering getting his car mended and covering the cost of food and substances, before being shot by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has frequently been hospitalised for violent rage.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt gets obsessed by the narrative, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is the character Brittney, who comes alive partially because of the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman 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 complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par