By Jamie Connerton

Local soul man Dan Hibshman’s latest published book is available at the Mendocino Book Co. and on Amazon.  His engaging stories range from straight autobiography to inventive fiction, from familiar locales to Mexico and Europe; his themes range from recognizable and concrete daily life to universal realms.  The title, Of a Lifetime, Stories 1963 – 2023, refers to writings the author has either completed at various times, or left incomplete and finished recently.  They all feel fresh and genuine, marked by Dan’s direct, matter-of-fact style, crisp and subtle humor, and empathetic approach to his work.

The book will appeal, I believe, to local readers as both literature and recog- nizable lore and location, and to general readership as literature as well as an introduction to Mendocino County culture, past and present.

Dan starts us off with 3 short pieces, one an enigmatic puzzle (to this reviewer) seemingly derived from youth, the second a wiseguy wordplay that could go down well as a comedy skit, the third a variously chilling and hilarious recall of grade school life.

Following two short poignant poems, the author launches into a set of four disparately-themed stories, the first of which, “Fritz” hauntingly takes us to a world at once vaguely familiar and entirely strange, possibly a Twilight Zone episode, though with more weight and hard force.  The other three tales are engrossing: one hilariously and painfully recognizable to boys of a certain age; an understated exotic travelogue; a terse, somewhat gritty third-person life trial.

I’ll say as little as possible about the Mendocino Interior tales.  They should be read together, best in one sitting.  Pancho is a character you won’t forget, a true literary creation.  The characters and scenes in this mostly northern Mendocino County-based series are intimately drawn and historically revealing, for readers both familiar and unfamiliar with the territory and times.  The progressive rhythm of the continuing stories lead inexorably to “conclusions” we somehow could see coming, yet are starkly surprising.  Dan’s self-created maps and directions orient the reader, both local and stranger, very clearly.

Disclaimer:  this reviewer had no prior knowledge of, or interest in, the naming of the town in the story “In the Lane”, and claims no gain or motive in promoting it.  He finds it subtly on target and familiar.  “Lost Puppy” will have you nodding in recognition if you live around here, or anywhere, really.

I’ll say nothing of the concluding stories, “Four Adventures With Leslie”, except that you should read them, all the way to the end – again, preferably, in one sitting.

Of A Lifetime is attractively and solidly bound, with an achingly familiar cover photo by the incomparable Tom Liden.  The typesetting is clear and not of eye- straining font size.  The presentation and editing is of professional quality.  It’s also a bargain at the price, readily available, by a person who’s one of us, in the local and the larger sense.

I also recommend Dan Hibshman’s 2020 book, Disquiet: Stories from a Law Library, particularly for local readers who’ll find many flashes of recognition in both humorous and telling ways.  It’s available, too, through the Mendocino Book Co., in a pioneering self-published format not as polished as Of a Lifetime, but well worth the reading.

You can see Dan and hear him read, with Writers Read in the Community Room of the Sun House Museum, Thursday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m.