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This latest work features protagonists chasing after clean slates, attempting to leave behind drugs or harmful partnerships, only to see hope turn into violence. The author frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", rendering it deliberately jaded through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They decided to make a fresh start" are scattered across the text. Meanwhile, she is embarking on her personal new beginning, because this presents as a novel form of writing – observational, authentically narrative. Yet it reveals itself to be filled with the familiar conflicts and approaches as her previous works.

From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work

Kraus was originally an artist who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 seminal work I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, transforming personal female narrative from abjection into defiance. She persisted as a writer, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels did not possess the impact and rawness that the letter form brought to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her role as a renegade artist who had turned into a major property owner, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It is logical that she presently aims to experiment with fresh narrative sources, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a period in which she claims that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative obsolete.

Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering multiple eras – none able to break free from their histories. We encounter the story of Emma and Jasper, based on Kraus's parents, moving from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. There is the account of Kraus, in the persona of Catt Greene, reckoning with the belated success of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her addict husband a man named Paul. The third thread involves the story of the murder of one lost young man by another in a town largely deserted by liberal ideals only a short distance from Catt's cottage in rural Minnesota.

As a reader fond of refined literature of the kind Kraus herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the narrative style of the initial segment.

Being a reader who appreciates precise prose of the style that Kraus often disregards, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening segment. It possesses a fresh level of observation that allows space for small details, like the container that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the beginning of the narrative, assisted by her beloved father. "I discovered a frozen plaything!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like hard candy". The author narrates the tale of Emma with curiosity and intimacy. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not precisely her dream."

Frustration and Disruption

I was destined to be disappointed when I wished this different style could persist to the end. Kraus says here that she resents the pleasure audiences such as myself have derived from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disruption, to the unpolished style she shares with her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her earlier works returns in the second segment. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between Minnesota and LA, failing to help Paul manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as Paul transitions between low-resource employment as an recovery specialist in a world propelled by the rage and anxiety that underpins an electoral success. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on social media, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "real estate holder" on Wikipedia. The author still appears to care a little too much about this. In a moment she remarks that she's looking into the killing so that before departing the state, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her social media opponents would be unable to grasp, would not even see".

The Killing Story

So then we come to the homicide in question – and the referenced day experienced by the deceased with the perpetrator and his companions. The author possesses great source material, and reconstructs step by step what occurred as 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 having his vehicle repaired and paying for snacks and drugs, before being murdered by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has repeatedly received inpatient care for violent rage.

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 wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is Brittney, who comes alive in part due to the protagonist's connection to her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus notes that Catt converses with Brittney in jail, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The whole section feels curiously unresolved, to the degree that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par