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The Four Spent the Day Together is populated with characters seeking new beginnings, attempting to leave behind addictions or abusive marriages, only to find hope curdling into violence. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "new beginning", making it willfully cynical through its repetitions. Examples include "He aimed to start over" and "They decided to make a fresh start" recur in the narrative. Meanwhile, she seems to be making her individual reinvention, as this appears a different type of work – observational, truly literary. Yet it turns out to be packed with the same dilemmas and approaches as earlier books.

From Chance Novelist to Iconic Work

Chris Kraus began as an creative who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of missives to a distant beloved, elevating intimate women's literature from abjection into rebellion. She kept producing books, but the three subsequent compelling and abrasive novels lacked the power and directness that the correspondence format brought to the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a renegade artist who had become a major property owner, so there was much discussion on housing investments. It is logical that she currently desires to experiment with different types of content, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a time when she states that contemporary political climate makes confessional writing redundant.

Several Eras, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, spanning multiple eras – none able to break free from their histories. We encounter the narrative about characters Emma and Jasper, representations of her own mother and father, relocating from the urban environment to the Connecticut countryside. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the character of a figure named Catt Greene, grappling with the delayed acclaim of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one directionless individual by another in a locality largely deserted by forward-thinking policies only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in rural Minnesota.

As a reader drawn to refined literature of the kind the author herself tends to eschew, I was seduced by the narrative style of the first section.

As a reader who favors honed writing of the style that the author usually avoids, I was captivated by the storytelling approach of the opening segment. It possesses a new quality of attentiveness that makes room for trivial aspects, like the pail that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the opening of the book, aided by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she declares; "a great plaything", he answers, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates Emma's story with curiosity and intimacy. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not precisely her dream."

Frustration and Disruption

I was destined to be disappointed when I expected this different style could continue through the novel. Kraus says here that she is annoyed by the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's devoted to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she has in common with her idol author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her past books comes back in the second segment. Catt Greene is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the city's most challenging districts while shuttling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unsuccessful in assisting Paul manage his alcohol use. She experiences powerlessness as her spouse moves between underfunded jobs as an recovery specialist in a world propelled by the anger and fear that underpins Trump's victory. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on Twitter, her listed profession modified from "novelist" to "real estate holder" on the online encyclopedia. The author still appears to care a little too much about this. At one point she remarks that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her online critics would be unable to grasp, would not even see".

The Homicide Account

Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the referenced day spent by the victim with the murderer and his associates. Kraus has great source material, and reconstructs step by step what transpired when the victim Brandon came to visit Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she offered adult photos. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day alongside her friends, wandering about fixing his automobile and covering the cost of food and substances, before being murdered by Brittney's partner Micah – a individual with mental health challenges who has frequently been hospitalised for aggressive outbursts.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

The protagonist becomes fixated by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards accurate chronicling and daring boundary-pushing wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her individual preoccupations here. The compelling persona is Brittney herself, who comes alive partially because of Catt seeing herself in her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. Kraus tells us that Catt speaks to Brittney in jail, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the point that her narrative ends almost mid-par