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The Four Spent the Day Together centers on individuals seeking clean slates, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into conflict. Kraus repeatedly invokes the phrase "new beginning", transforming it into deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Examples include "He aimed to start over" and "They chose to begin anew" appear throughout the story. Meanwhile, she is embarking on her personal new beginning, as this appears a different type of work – fact-based, genuinely novelistic. Yet it proves to be laden with the same dilemmas and approaches as past novels.

From Unplanned Author to Cult Classic

The writer was originally an creative who became a writer unintentionally with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, made up of missives to a distant beloved, transforming confessional female writing from self-debasement into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels missed the impact and rawness that the correspondence format brought to the voice of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her position as a renegade artist who had turned into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on property transactions. It makes sense that she presently aims to try out fresh narrative sources, directing her gaze to other people's stories, at a time when she claims that current political era renders personal narrative obsolete.

Multiple Generations, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, covering several time periods – none able to break free from their pasts. There is the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, based on her own mother and father, moving from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, 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 progressive politics only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in rural Minnesota.

For this reader fond of refined literature of the type Kraus typically rejects, I was enchanted by the novelistic voice of the initial segment.

Being a reader drawn to crafted language of the variety that Kraus often disregards, I was seduced by the literary tone of the first section. There is a new quality of attentiveness that accommodates trivial aspects, like the container that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the start of the story, aided by her cherished parent. "Look, an ice toy!" she says; "a great plaything", he replies, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". She tells Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not entirely her own."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was bound to become frustrated when I hoped this new voice could last out the book. The author states here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's committed to disjunction, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her inspiration writer Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her previous novels reasserts itself in the central part. Catt Greene is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the city's most challenging districts while moving between Minnesota and LA, unable to aid Paul curb his addiction. She feels helpless as Paul cycles through poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a society fueled by the hostility and dread that powers a political win. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her occupation changed from "author" to "property owner" on a reference site. She still gives the impression to care a little too much about this. On one occasion she says that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an the nation that her Twitter detractors would not understand, would overlook entirely".

The Homicide Account

Thus we arrive to the homicide in question – and the titular day spent by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his friends. The author possesses great source material, and details moment by moment what transpired when a man named Brandon came to meet Brittney after meeting her on an app where she sold sex pictures. He was hoping for sex but seems affably to have spent the day in the company of her associates, mooching around fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.

Preoccupation and Open Ends

Catt gets obsessed by the account, and I was intrigued by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and reckless transgression tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is Brittney herself, who comes alive partly through Catt's identification with her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman spiraling out of control in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that Catt converses with Brittney in detention, but she fails to enact these dialogues. This entire part feels oddly unfinished, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par