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The new book is populated with protagonists chasing after fresh starts, struggling to escape substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to witness hope devolve into violence. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into willfully cynical through its repetitions. Sentences like "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" are scattered across the narrative. And yet, the author herself is embarking on her personal new beginning, since this presents as a different type of work – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. But then it proves to be packed with the familiar conflicts and approaches as past novels.

From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic

Kraus began as an creative who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, structured as letters to an unreceptive lover, elevating personal female narrative from self-debasement into defiance. She persisted as a writer, but the next trio of compelling and abrasive novels did not possess the impact and rawness that the correspondence format brought to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her identity as a maverick maker who had become a major property owner, so there was significant attention on real estate deals. It follows that she currently desires to try out fresh narrative sources, turning outward to external narratives, at a time when she states that contemporary political climate renders personal narrative obsolete.

Several Eras, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing three generations – none able to break free from their pasts. The book includes the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, versions of the author's parents, transitioning from the Bronx to rural Connecticut. Additionally the narrative of the author, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, 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 liberal ideals only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in a remote part of Minnesota.

For this reader attracted to polished prose of the sort the author herself often avoids, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the first section.

As someone who reads who favors honed writing of the kind that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the first section. It exhibits a novel degree of detail that makes room for minutiae, like the pail that the young Catt frees from the ice at the start of the story, helped by her adored dad. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he answers, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". She tells Emma's story with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was destined to be disappointed 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 gotten from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disruption, to the untidy aesthetics she shares with her hero writer Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her previous novels comes back in the central part. The protagonist is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid her husband curb his addiction. She feels helpless as her spouse transitions between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a environment fueled by the rage and anxiety that underpins Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation on social media, her occupation changed from "author" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. At one point she remarks that she's looking into the killing so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her online critics would fail to comprehend, would not even see".

The Murder Narrative

Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the referenced day passed by the victim with the killer and his associates. Kraus has great source material, and details moment by moment what happened when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she marketed explicit images. He was hoping for sex but appears congenially to have passed 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 individual with mental health challenges who has frequently been hospitalised for fits of anger.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

The protagonist becomes fixated by the account, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression clash in this segment. Yet I wished her to delve deeper into her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who comes alive in part due to Catt seeing herself in her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a troubled, forgotten town. The author informs us that Catt speaks to Brittney in jail, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par