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7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Good Idea; Needs Work Dec 13, 2008
By Richard Wells
In "The Story of our People," poet David Hillstrom has tried to breathe life into the well-worn story of building a new civilization on the ashes of the old. His work is focused through four archetypes: the Grandmother, the Welder (builder), the Poet, and the Woman; and he works with prose and poetry. Unfortunately, Mr. Hillstrom is not up to the task.
His characters don't have well delineated individual voices, and the prose voice of the Grandmother, academic and unnatural, is especially unsuited to the role.
Mr. Hillstrom works hard to bring scenes to life, but over-reaches in his imagery, and falls into cliché. The piece entitled "Exodus," is an example of this failure with lines like: "Windows of pensioned eyes/are shuttered," or, "Marketplaces are smeared/with the blood of the lamb." The entire chronicle is filled with similar poetic gaffes.
It's interesting that for the female roles it's enough to be female, but the men have actual occupations. Feminists of the old or new societies might bridle at that. Of course the assignment of gender to the Poet and the Welder may be my own failing - I doubt it though.
It's hard for me to believe that a poetry editor at Amazon chose this book for special treatment. "The Story of our People," is a BookSurge publication - Amazon's self-publishing/books on demand venture - and I suspect that's how it made it to the Vine program.
All in all, Mr. Hillstrom is a poet in need of a real editor, and/or mentor to help him improve upon his good idea.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
You Must Be a Lover of Poetry Dec 17, 2008
By Nancy
"Stepfordmomto2"
Good thing that this book was only 40 pages because it took me a couple of readings to get what Hillstrom was trying to tell me.
Split between poetry and a short paragraph to catch you up on where you are in the story, "Grandma" is traveling with a group of children in what appears to be a post-apocalyptic time. The poetry surrounds the stories of three people, a woman, a poet and a welder. The three have been sent from the city and this is their story of the past and how to live in the future.
You must be a lover of poetry to follow this story. To understand the deeper meanings and have the time to contemplate the words of wisdom that the author is trying to convey.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Intriguing poetry, vague intent Oct 31, 2009
By Swimming Rabbit
David Hillstrom's poetry is quite haunting, and I was struck by the strong, unique imagery found in some of the poems. And his concept for the collection as a whole is a great one. Only, I'm not sure how well it all goes together. The soliloquies of the three voices don't seem to have any cohesion with the context--each poem is supposed to be part of a story that an old woman is telling children--and in that context, they couldn't seem further from the intent. They have a vague, dreamlike quality that could really work if they were held up by a stronger framework and in greater quantity (i.e. some defining poems with a more fleshed-out structure that would make the piece flow in a clear direction). Moreover, some of the poems have too many references to this world that force the reader out of the created world that the poet was supposedly creating with the scene set-ups and the characters. This slim volume only seems like the beginnings of a concept that is meant to be much, much more fleshed out in a final stage--I would blame the editor for not pushing the writer further. The poems are not strong enough to be the pillars for the framework--this could have succeeded as a much longer work with [much] more prose (an author's note or preface might also have been a great help), more framework, more poems with more clarity. I hope the poet will consider further developing this work and be willing to workshop it (or at least get more editorial input).
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Great Cover.....Missing Substance Jan 10, 2009
By V. Marshall
As a lover of poetry and the wisdom of elders I held high hopes for this book. Based on the description I thought this collection of poetry would tell the tale of an old saged woman relating her ancient wisdom to a group of war refugee children. Instead I found a mis-matched, seemingly incomplete, small book of interesting poems.
As a poet I found David Hillstrom's work readable and at times enjoyable perhaps. But his concept for this book has such depth and promise that I found myself almost disappointed or let down. I hope Hillstrom will re-visit his work and add a bit more substance so that his inner words match the beauty of this book's cover and potential.
"The Story of Our People" is a nice little book of poems however I felt it had a greater calling and would be wonderful should the writer choose to tie up the loose strings and bring a more connected depth back to its pages for the people who are waiting.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 A new civilization born on the shoulders of history Dec 11, 2008
By Charleen Merced
"The Story of our people" by David Hillstrom is a self-published beautiful story about a post-war world. The poetry/narration book is about a exiled survivors. They are enduring and moving towards safety and hopefully, reconstruction and civilization. The book includes narration and poetry as it's main genres as it attempts to tell the story the creation of the new civilization.
The book opens with a grandmother telling the story of their people and their survival to a group of children. The story centers around a welder, a poet and a woman as symbols and gateways of the rebirth of this civilization.
The story first describes the lives of the welder, poet and the woman and then unfolds by through the narration of the conflict. The lives of the three main characters is personified in poetry and each word gives each character a reason to move forward. Each character is also woven into the storyline which becomes essential to the future. The welder leads the survivors of this war through safety. The poet becomes a martyr as he tries to decry the conflicts and injustices of society and raise awareness and from the woman, ever so symbol of the earth and of rebirth, a new civilization is born.
The book explores several issues such as atheism, humanity, social responsibility, war, survival and endurance. The book exemplifies the idea of the future, as the children, moving forward towards safety and civilization, learn form the past and from their history.
The book is not only lyrical and beautifully written, it is also very simple and easy to read and understand. This is a great work of art and an amazing tale about humanity.
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