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The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with characters chasing after new beginnings, attempting to leave behind addictions or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into violence. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "new beginning", making it willfully cynical through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They decided to make a fresh start" recur in the story. At the same time, she appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, as this seems a novel form of writing – observational, authentically narrative. Yet it turns out to be laden with the recurring issues and aesthetics as earlier books.

From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic

Kraus was originally an artist who entered the literary world almost accidentally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of letters to an unreceptive lover, converting confessional female writing from self-debasement into defiance. She continued writing, but the following three compelling and abrasive novels did not possess the power and directness that the epistolary style infused into the voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her role as a nonconformist creator who had become a major property owner, so there was significant attention on real estate deals. It makes sense that she now wants to experiment with fresh narrative sources, looking outwards to external narratives, at a period in which she claims that current political era renders personal narrative unnecessary.

Three Generations, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, spanning several time periods – each trapped by their backgrounds. The book includes the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, representations of her own mother and father, moving from the urban environment to a pastoral setting. There is the account of Kraus, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her substance-dependent spouse Paul. And there is the narrative of a homicide of one lost young man by another in a community mostly forsaken by liberal ideals only 80 miles from Catt's cottage in a remote part of Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader fond of refined literature of the type the author herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the first section.

As a reader who appreciates crafted language of the variety that Kraus tends to eschew, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the initial part. There is a new quality of attentiveness that makes room for minutiae, like the pail that the protagonist as a child pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, assisted by her cherished parent. "I found an ice toy!" she says; "a nice toy", he answers, "the ambiguous meanings of language circulating in their speech like hard candy". She tells the tale of Emma with curiosity and intimacy. "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 satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to disjunction, to the messy artistic approach she shares with her hero author Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her earlier works returns in the second segment. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while traveling between Minnesota and LA, failing to help Paul manage his alcohol use. She feels helpless as Paul moves between low-resource employment as an substance abuse counselor in a world propelled by the rage and anxiety that underpins an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "property owner" on Wikipedia. She still gives the impression to invest excessive emotion about this. On one occasion she says that she's researching the homicide so that before exiting the region, "she may grasp something about an the United States that her Twitter detractors would be unable to grasp, would not even see".

The Murder Narrative

Then we reach to the murder itself – and the titular day spent by the deceased with the murderer and his companions. The author possesses compelling foundational content, and details moment by moment what occurred as Brandon came to see Brittney after meeting her on an app where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, mooching around fixing his automobile and funding treats and narcotics, before being murdered by Brittney's partner Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has often been institutionalized for aggressive outbursts.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and daring boundary-pushing clash in this segment. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her own obsessions here. The standout figure is Brittney, who comes alive partly through Catt's identification with her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual derailing in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels curiously unresolved, to the extent that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par