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This latest work centers on protagonists pursuing new beginnings, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to find hope curdling into violence. Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "fresh start", rendering it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They decided to make a fresh start" recur in the narrative. Meanwhile, she seems to be making her own fresh start, because this presents as a new kind of book – fact-based, authentically narrative. However it turns out to be filled with the recurring issues and styles as past novels.

From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic

Chris Kraus started out as an artist who became a writer somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, transforming confessional female writing from abjection into assassination. She kept producing books, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels did not possess the impact and rawness that the letter form imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her role as a renegade artist who had turned into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It makes sense that she presently aims to experiment with different types of content, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a time when she claims that current political era makes confessional writing unnecessary.

Several Eras, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering three generations – none able to break free from their pasts. The book includes the story of Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, relocating from the Bronx to rural Connecticut. Additionally the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband Paul. The third thread involves the narrative of a homicide of one troubled youth by another in a town largely deserted by progressive politics only a short distance from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.

As a reader drawn to refined literature of the type Kraus herself typically rejects, I was seduced by the literary tone of the opening part.

As a reader who favors precise prose of the variety that the author usually avoids, I was captivated by the storytelling approach of the first section. It possesses a novel degree of detail that makes room for trivial aspects, like the pail that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the beginning of the narrative, aided by her cherished parent. "Look, an ice toy!" she declares; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."

Frustration and Disruption

I was destined to be disappointed when I hoped this new voice could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the unpolished style she shares with her idol author Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her past books returns in the second segment. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing three dozen dilapidated units in the city's most challenging districts while moving 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 society propelled by the hostility and dread that drives an electoral success. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt's social media ostracism on social media, her professional designation altered from "writer" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to care a little too much about this. In a moment she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her Twitter detractors would fail to comprehend, would not even see".

The Killing Story

So then we come to the homicide in question – and the eponymous day experienced by the deceased with the killer and his companions. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and knows hour by hour what transpired when Brandon came to meet Brittney after meeting her on an app where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but seems amiably to have occupied the day with her companions, mooching around getting his car mended and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has frequently been hospitalised for fits of anger.

Fascination and Incompletion

The protagonist becomes fixated by the narrative, and I was fascinated by the way that her twin drives towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking clash in this segment. But I'd have liked her to delve deeper into her individual preoccupations here. The compelling persona is the character Brittney, who gains dimension partly through the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual derailing in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in detention, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The whole section feels curiously unresolved, to the point that her narrative ends almost mid-par