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The Four Spent the Day Together centers on individuals pursuing new beginnings, trying to break free from substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into conflict. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "fresh start", rendering it willfully cynical through its repetitions. Examples include "He aimed to start over" and "They decided to make a fresh start" appear throughout the text. And yet, the author herself seems to be making her personal new beginning, as this seems a novel form of writing – observational, truly literary. But then it proves to be laden with the recurring issues and aesthetics as earlier books.

From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work

Kraus began as an visual artist who transitioned to writing somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, structured as missives to a distant beloved, converting intimate women's literature from humiliation into rebellion. She persisted as a writer, but the next trio of engaging and challenging novels lacked the impact and rawness that the correspondence format imparted to the voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her role as a maverick maker who had evolved into a major property owner, so there was significant attention on property transactions. It is logical that she presently aims to try out different types of content, turning outward to the experiences of others, at a time when she states that current political era renders personal narrative redundant.

Multiple Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, encompassing three generations – none able to break free from their backgrounds. We encounter the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, moving from the Bronx to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the belated success of I Love Dick, the rise of Trump, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one troubled youth by another in a community mostly forsaken by progressive politics only a short distance from Catt's rural residence in a remote part of Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader fond of polished prose of the kind Kraus herself typically rejects, I was enchanted by the literary tone of the initial segment.

As a reader drawn to honed writing of the style that Kraus herself usually avoids, I was captivated by the literary tone of the opening segment. It exhibits a fresh level of observation that accommodates trivial aspects, like the pail that the protagonist as a child dislodges from ice at the opening of the book, aided by her cherished parent. "I found an ice toy!" she says; "a great plaything", he responds, "the ambiguous meanings of language rolling around in their mouths like piece candy". The author narrates Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."

Frustration and Disruption

I was fated to feel let down when I expected this different style could last out the book. The author states here that she dislikes the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's devoted to fragmentation, to the unpolished style she echoes from her idol writer Kathy Acker, and the blankness and repetitiveness of her past books returns in the middle section. The protagonist is working on refurbishing multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while moving between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid her husband control his drinking. She is overwhelmed as her spouse moves between low-resource employment as an addiction therapist in a environment propelled by the rage and anxiety that drives a political win. There are several pages about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her listed profession modified from "novelist" to "landlord" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she states that she's researching the homicide so that before departing the state, "she might be able to learn something about an America that her social media opponents would not understand, would overlook entirely".

The Homicide Account

So then we come to the actual killing – and the referenced day experienced by the deceased with the killer and his associates. Kraus has compelling foundational content, and details moment by moment what occurred as a man named Brandon came to meet Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she sold sex pictures. He was hoping for sex but seems amiably to have occupied the day alongside her friends, mooching around fixing his automobile and covering the cost of food and substances, before being killed by gunfire by her romantic interest a man named Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has frequently been hospitalised for fits of anger.

Fascination and Incompletion

Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I was fascinated by the way that her twin drives towards responsible documentation and audacious rule-breaking clash in this segment. However, I would have preferred her to go further into her individual preoccupations here. The compelling persona is Brittney, who becomes vivid in part due to the protagonist's connection to her – yet another intelligent, harassed young woman going off the rails in a difficult, overlooked locality. The author informs us that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels strangely incomplete, to the point that her narrative ends almost mid-par