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The Four Spent the Day Together features protagonists seeking new beginnings, trying to break free from addictions or toxic relationships, only to find hope curdling into violence. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", rendering it willfully cynical through recurring use. Sentences like "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" recur in the narrative. Meanwhile, Kraus herself appears to be undertaking her personal new beginning, because this appears a different type of work – documentarian, truly literary. Yet it proves to be filled with the recurring issues and approaches as earlier books.

From Chance Novelist to Cult Classic

Kraus began as an creative who transitioned to writing almost accidentally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of letters to an unreceptive lover, transforming personal female narrative from abjection into rebellion. She kept producing books, but the next trio of engaging and challenging novels did not possess the power and directness that the epistolary style imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her position as a maverick maker who had become a major property owner, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It is logical that she presently aims to explore fresh narrative sources, turning outward to external narratives, at a period in which she states that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative redundant.

Three Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing three generations – each trapped by their histories. We encounter the tale of Emma and Jasper, based on the author's parents, moving from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. There is the narrative of the author, in the character of Catt Greene, confronting the late recognition of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one troubled youth by another in a community long abandoned by forward-thinking policies only a short distance from Catt's cottage in a remote part of Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader fond of polished prose of the type Kraus herself often avoids, I was enchanted by the literary tone of the initial segment.

Being a reader drawn to honed writing of the variety that Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the opening segment. There is a fresh level of observation that makes room for minutiae, like the container that the young Catt dislodges from ice at the opening of the book, aided by her cherished parent. "Look, an ice toy!" she declares; "a nice toy", he answers, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this new voice could continue through the novel. The author states here that she dislikes the enjoyment readers like me have derived from I Love Dick; she's committed to fragmentation, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her previous novels comes back in the second segment. Catt is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between Minnesota and LA, unsuccessful in assisting Paul control his drinking. She is overwhelmed as her spouse transitions between underfunded jobs as an substance abuse counselor in a environment driven by the hostility and dread that drives a political win. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt's social media ostracism on a platform, her occupation changed from "author" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. The author still appears to invest excessive emotion about this. On one occasion she says that she's researching the homicide so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an the nation that her Twitter detractors would not understand, would overlook entirely".

The Homicide Account

Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the titular day experienced by the murdered individual with the killer and his friends. The author possesses excellent raw material, and reconstructs step by step what transpired when a man named Brandon came to see Brittney after meeting her on an app where she offered adult photos. He was hoping for sex but seems affably to have spent the day with her companions, wandering about getting his car mended and paying for snacks and drugs, before being shot by her romantic interest Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has frequently been hospitalised for violent rage.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt develops an obsession by the account, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and daring boundary-pushing tussle in this section. But I'd have liked her to delve deeper into her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is Brittney, who comes alive partly through Catt's identification with her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus tells us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels curiously unresolved, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par