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The new book features individuals chasing after fresh starts, struggling to escape addictions or harmful partnerships, only to find hope curdling into violence. Kraus frequently uses the phrase "fresh start", transforming it into intentionally weary through its repetitions. Sentences like "He aimed to start over" and "They chose to begin anew" are scattered across the story. At the same time, the author herself is embarking on her personal new beginning, because this appears a new kind of book – observational, genuinely novelistic. Yet it proves to be laden with the familiar conflicts and styles as past novels.

From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book

Kraus was originally an visual artist who became a writer almost accidentally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming intimate women's literature from self-debasement into defiance. She continued writing, but the following three engaging and challenging novels did not possess the power and directness that the letter form imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her identity as a maverick maker who had evolved into a extensive real estate holder, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It makes sense that she now wants to experiment with different types of content, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a period in which she claims that Trumpian politics turns intimate literature unnecessary.

Several Eras, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering multiple eras – all unable to escape their pasts. The book includes the story of characters Emma and Jasper, based on her own mother and father, relocating from the urban environment to a pastoral setting. There is the narrative of the author, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse her husband Paul. The third thread involves the narrative of a homicide of one troubled youth by another in a locality largely deserted by liberal ideals only a short distance from the protagonist's home in rural Minnesota.

As a reader attracted to honed writing of the sort the author herself typically rejects, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.

Being a reader who favors precise prose of the kind that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. There is a novel degree of detail that makes room for minutiae, like the container that the protagonist as a child dislodges from ice at the beginning of the narrative, assisted by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like hard candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not hers, exactly."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was destined to be disappointed when I expected this new voice could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she resents the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to fragmentation, to the unpolished style she has in common with her hero Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books comes back in the middle section. Catt Greene is trying to renovate multiple decrepit residences in the city's most challenging districts while shuttling between two different states, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She experiences powerlessness as Paul cycles through low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a environment driven by the hostility and dread that underpins Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation on Twitter, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "property owner" on a reference site. She still gives the impression to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she remarks that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her Twitter detractors would be unable to grasp, would not even perceive".

The Killing Story

Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the eponymous day spent by the victim with the perpetrator and his associates. Kraus has great source material, and details moment by moment what occurred as Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she marketed explicit images. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day in the company of her associates, loitering fixing his automobile and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by Brittney's boyfriend a man named Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt develops an obsession by the account, and I was fascinated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards accurate chronicling and reckless transgression tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her own obsessions here. The compelling persona is Brittney, who gains dimension in part due to Catt seeing herself in her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The whole section feels oddly unfinished, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par