Publication date- 15 December 2020

Genre – Memoir, Humor

Review by – Prakriti Singh

Source- Review copy

Rating- 3/5

That Time I... by David O’Brien is a memoir of eccentric incidents throughout his life. The book is written as if telling the memories over a cup of tea. Each chapter is a new event beginning with ‘That Time I’ and gives full description of an incident loaded with humor.

The book wanders around various places from Los Angeles to Spain and covers the whole life of the author, from his childhood when his father died to the addicted adult he then becomes. His life is full of humorous events- he punches a cop, steals a taxi, eats with billionaires, and even gets kidnapped. The author describes himself to be suffering from hypomania. He is a spoiled rich, earns money by blackjack and tips waitresses, strippers, bartenders and doormen way too much. He is alcoholic and a total mess. He loves black limo and smoking weed. He is good with handling people but somehow can land in court or jail.

There were some really funny parts in the book which made me laugh hard. The author’s approach towards things and the way he traps himself in happenings is amusing. The words are impressive and the reader can see the actual characters and even the author himself doing a stupid thing. A normal person (like me) may find some incidents very vague to be true but they may happen to a person as crazy as the author.

What I did not like about the book is that it was not an actual novel-kind of book which I like to read. The stories are written randomly and not in chronological order so it is sometimes tough to relate names and places. In one chapter, the author is a 40-year-old and then in the next chapter he is a child and in the third one he is in his youth. This makes the book kind of confusing. Slang language is used a lot in the book making it an unsuitable read for kids. Some parts of the book were exaggerated than what was required.

I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I was really not hoping this book to be an unorganized collection of stories but maybe some people would like it as well. The stories are fun to read yet confusing due to the pattern used. The slang language used may be profane to some readers but is compatible with the general idea of the scene. I would recommend reading the book if you like a collection of short humorous stories rather than a whole continuing storyline.