Cache Girl Saves the World

Thirza Defoe Presents a Novel In Visions

By ndnmamaBold, provocative, and highly experimental, Cache Girl Saves the World introduces a new medium for literary fiction: the "novel in visions," which combines audio of the novel's text with still photographs of some of its action, packaged in DVD format. The novel tells the story of Ta'li, a young runaway whose Cherokee ancestors died on the Trail of Tears. Searching for peace for herself and the world, Ta'li finds herself in the swamps of Southern Illinois' Cache River, where, with the help of the Swamp Asp and the legendary Big Muddy Monster, she embarks on a daring quest to bring her vision of empathy, empowerment, unity, social justice and ecological wisdom to a humanity seemingly bent on self-destruction.

"Some of the visions of the piece are narrated by non-human characters, like the Swamp Asp, and the Earth itself," Stone says. "I think it is important, when you talk about issues related to sustainability, that you look at things not only from the perspective of humans, but from other perspectives as well."

"This is something no publisher has done before," Stone says. "I hope it will catch on. Whereas film has not always been kind to the novel–often requiring condensation of the original, as well as massive rewrites, even of dialogue–the novel in visions presents the complete text of the novel: kind of like an audio book, read by myself and the other actors involved, but with a visual element as well. It is a great way for novelists–and poets, for that matter–to reach new and larger audiences."Comment:  For another Native-themed book on the environment, see Whales vs. Ocean Pollution.