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The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with characters seeking clean slates, trying to break free from drugs or harmful partnerships, only to find hope curdling into violence. The author frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", rendering it intentionally weary through constant reiteration. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They decided to make a fresh start" are scattered across the story. At the same time, she is embarking on her personal new beginning, because this presents as a novel form of writing – observational, truly literary. But then it reveals itself to be filled with the familiar conflicts and approaches as earlier books.

From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic

Kraus started out as an artist who became a writer somewhat by chance with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, converting intimate women's literature from self-debasement into assassination. She continued writing, but the three subsequent fascinating and rebarbative novels lacked the power and directness that the correspondence format imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her position as a nonconformist creator who had evolved into a extensive real estate holder, so there was considerable focus on real estate deals. It follows that she presently aims to explore different types of content, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a period in which she claims that current political era renders personal narrative obsolete.

Multiple Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, encompassing three generations – all unable to escape their backgrounds. The book includes the story of characters Emma and Jasper, representations of her own mother and father, relocating from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. Then there is the narrative of the author, in the character of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her addict husband a man named Paul. Finally the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a community mostly forsaken by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.

For this reader attracted to polished prose of the type Kraus herself typically rejects, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening part.

As a reader who favors honed writing of the style that the author often disregards, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the first section. There is a novel degree of detail that makes room for small details, like the container that the young Catt dislodges from ice at the start of the story, assisted by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she declares; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms circulating in their speech like piece candy". She tells the tale of Emma with interest and closeness. "Emma felt like she'd stepped into a dream – not precisely her dream."

Disappointment and Disjunction

I was bound to become frustrated when I hoped this different style could last out the book. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's committed to disjunction, to the messy artistic approach she shares with her hero author Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books returns in the second segment. Catt Greene is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She experiences powerlessness as Paul cycles through low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a world fueled by the hostility and dread that drives a political win. A significant portion discusses about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her occupation changed from "novelist" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. At one point she remarks that she's looking into the killing so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an the nation that her social media opponents would be unable to grasp, would not even see".

The Murder Narrative

So then we come to the homicide in question – and the referenced day spent by the deceased with the killer and his friends. Kraus has excellent raw material, and knows hour by hour what transpired when a man named 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, wandering about fixing his automobile and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by Brittney's boyfriend a man named Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has often been institutionalized for aggressive outbursts.

Fascination and Incompletion

Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I found myself captivated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards ethical reporting and reckless transgression tussle in this section. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her personal fixations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who gains dimension partially because of Catt seeing herself in her – another bright, bullied girl going off the rails in a struggling, neglected community. The author informs us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the degree that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par