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This latest work features individuals chasing after fresh starts, trying to break free from drugs or harmful partnerships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. Chris Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into willfully cynical through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the story. At the same time, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her own fresh start, as this seems a different type of work – fact-based, authentically narrative. Yet it turns out to be packed with the same dilemmas and aesthetics as her previous works.

From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic

Kraus started out as an artist who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, converting personal female narrative from abjection into defiance. She persisted as a writer, but the following three engaging and challenging novels lacked the impact and rawness that the letter form brought to the voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her position as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It is logical that she currently desires to experiment with fresh narrative sources, looking outwards to other people's stories, at a moment when she claims that current political era turns intimate literature unnecessary.

Several Eras, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, spanning multiple eras – all unable to escape their backgrounds. We encounter the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, transitioning from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse Paul. The third thread involves the story of the murder of one troubled youth by another in a community mostly forsaken by progressive politics only a short distance from the protagonist's home in the Minnesota countryside.

For this reader drawn to polished prose of the sort the author herself often avoids, I was captivated by the literary tone of the first section.

Being a reader who appreciates honed writing of the kind that the author usually avoids, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the first section. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that accommodates small details, like the container that the youthful Catt pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, assisted by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she says; "a nice toy", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates Emma's story with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was destined to be disappointed when I hoped this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment audiences such as myself have taken from I Love Dick; she's committed to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her idol author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels reasserts itself in the central part. Catt is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between Minnesota and LA, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She feels helpless as Paul cycles through low-resource employment as an recovery specialist in a environment propelled by the hostility and dread that underpins Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her listed profession modified from "author" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to invest excessive emotion about this. On one occasion she states that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she may grasp something about an America that her social media opponents would fail to comprehend, would not even see".

The Homicide Account

Thus we arrive to the homicide in question – and the referenced day experienced by the victim with the perpetrator and his associates. Kraus utilizes compelling foundational content, and knows hour by hour what transpired when Brandon came to meet Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day alongside her friends, wandering about getting his car mended and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by her romantic interest Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has often been institutionalized for violent rage.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I was intrigued by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards accurate chronicling and daring boundary-pushing tussle in this section. Yet I wished her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is Brittney, who comes alive in part due to the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman spiraling out of control in a troubled, forgotten town. The author informs us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the degree that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par