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This latest work is populated with individuals chasing after new beginnings, attempting to leave behind substance abuse or abusive marriages, only to see hope turn into violence. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "fresh start", rendering it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Sentences like "He aimed to start over" and "They decided to make a fresh start" appear throughout the narrative. At the same time, the author herself appears to be undertaking her individual reinvention, because this presents as a novel form of writing – fact-based, truly literary. But then it reveals itself to be laden with the recurring issues and approaches as past novels.

From Accidental Writer to Cult Classic

Kraus started out as an artist who transitioned to writing unintentionally with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, made up of letters to an unreceptive lover, converting intimate women's literature from abjection into defiance. She kept producing books, but the next trio of fascinating and rebarbative novels missed the power and directness that the correspondence format brought to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her identity as a nonconformist creator who had turned into a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It makes sense that she currently desires to try out new kinds of material, looking outwards to other people's stories, at a time when she states that current political era turns intimate literature unnecessary.

Several Eras, One Unescapable Past

The Four Spent the Day Together is organized into a trio of segments, covering several time periods – all unable to escape their backgrounds. We encounter the story of Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, moving from the Bronx to a pastoral setting. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the guise of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her partner struggling with addiction a man named Paul. The third thread involves the account of a killing of one directionless individual by another in a town long abandoned by forward-thinking policies only a short distance from Catt's rural residence in a remote part of Minnesota.

From my perspective as a reader drawn to honed writing of the type the author herself often avoids, I was captivated by the literary tone of the initial segment.

As someone who reads who appreciates honed writing of the kind that Kraus tends to eschew, I was seduced by the novelistic voice of the initial part. It possesses a fresh level of observation that makes room for trivial aspects, like the container that the protagonist as a child pries out of frozen water at the beginning of the narrative, helped by her adored dad. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a nice toy", he responds, "the ambiguous meanings of language circulating in their speech like sweet treats". Kraus writes Emma's story with interest and closeness. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not entirely her own."

Frustration and Disruption

I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this fresh tone could last out the book. Kraus says here that she resents the pleasure readers like me have taken from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, to the untidy aesthetics she has in common with her hero Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her earlier works returns in the middle section. Catt Greene is trying to renovate three dozen dilapidated units in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while moving between Minnesota and LA, failing to help Paul curb his addiction. She is overwhelmed as Paul moves between poorly supported positions as an addiction therapist in a environment driven by the anger and fear that underpins a political win. A significant portion discusses about Catt's social media ostracism on social media, her occupation changed from "writer" to "real estate holder" on a reference site. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. In a moment she says that she's looking into the killing so that before leaving Minnesota, "she might be able to learn something about an the nation that her online critics would be unable to grasp, would overlook entirely".

The Murder Narrative

Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the eponymous day experienced by the deceased with the perpetrator and his associates. The author possesses excellent raw material, and details moment by moment what occurred as the victim Brandon came to visit Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but appears congenially to have passed the day with her companions, mooching around having his vehicle repaired and covering the cost of food and substances, before being murdered by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has often been institutionalized for fits of anger.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt develops an obsession by the narrative, and I was fascinated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and audacious rule-breaking clash in this segment. However, I would have preferred her to delve deeper into her personal fixations here. The most interesting character is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid in part due to Catt's identification with her – another bright, bullied girl derailing in a struggling, neglected community. The author informs us that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. This entire part feels curiously unresolved, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par