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The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with protagonists chasing after new beginnings, struggling to escape substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to find hope curdling into violence. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "clean slate", transforming it into willfully cynical through its repetitions. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the story. Meanwhile, the author herself seems to be making her own fresh start, because this appears a novel form of writing – observational, authentically narrative. Yet it reveals itself to be packed with the same dilemmas and styles as her previous works.

From Chance Novelist to Iconic Work

Chris Kraus was originally an artist who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, structured as missives to a distant beloved, converting confessional female writing from abjection into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the three subsequent compelling and abrasive novels missed the power and directness that the epistolary style imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her position as a maverick maker who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It makes sense that she presently aims to try out fresh narrative sources, looking outwards to the experiences of others, at a time when she states that current political era makes confessional writing unnecessary.

Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering three generations – each trapped by their histories. We encounter the tale of a couple named Emma and Jasper, based on Kraus's parents, relocating from the urban environment to rural Connecticut. There is the account of Kraus, in the persona of a figure named Catt Greene, confronting the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband her husband Paul. And there is the story of the murder of one lost young man by another in a locality largely deserted by liberal ideals only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in a remote part of Minnesota.

For this reader fond of refined literature of the sort Kraus herself typically rejects, I was enchanted by the literary tone of the first section.

Being a reader drawn to crafted language of the variety that the author often disregards, I was won over by the storytelling approach of the initial part. There is a new quality of attentiveness that accommodates minutiae, like the pail that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the opening of the book, aided by her adored dad. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a great plaything", he answers, "the elliptical meanings of words rolling around in their mouths like hard candy". The author narrates Emma's narrative with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."

Frustration and Disruption

I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this new voice could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she dislikes the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's devoted to fragmentation, to the unpolished style she has in common with her hero Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her previous novels returns in the central part. Catt is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the city's most challenging districts while moving between the Midwest and the West Coast, unsuccessful in assisting Paul curb his addiction. She is overwhelmed as Paul moves between poorly supported positions as an recovery specialist in a world driven by the hostility and dread that drives an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on social media, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. At one point she states that she's looking into the killing so that before exiting the region, "she may grasp something about an America that her Twitter detractors would fail to comprehend, would not even perceive".

The Killing Story

Then we reach to the actual killing – and the titular day experienced by the victim with the perpetrator and his companions. Kraus utilizes compelling foundational content, and knows hour by hour what happened when Brandon came to meet Brittney after connecting via an application where she offered adult photos. He anticipated intimacy but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, mooching around getting his car mended and paying for snacks and drugs, before being shot by Brittney's boyfriend Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has often been institutionalized for aggressive outbursts.

Fascination and Incompletion

Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and audacious rule-breaking wrestle in this part. But I'd have liked her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The most interesting character is Brittney herself, who comes alive partially because of Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the extent that her narrative ends almost mid-par