to go to rescue a friend you haven't seen in years? In Penny Allen's staggering, often gut-punching novel, This Rescue Thing, the answer to that question unfolds in ways that delight, astonish and titillate. A feast for the senses, Allen's evocative narrative takes us on a journey around the globe, from Portland to Paris to Bangkok, as the narrator finds her life irrevocably entangled with a force of nature named Sansan-an old friend she decides to rescue from a mental facility in Thailand. This after Sansan contacts the narrator out of the blue in a last-ditch effort to plead for help. And so, jumping face-first into the abyss to fulfill that request, the narrator embarks on the unexpected adventure of a lifetime, learning that some friendships are the kind that never die, no matter how long you go without seeing or talking to the person. Or how much their wild child personality might get you into trouble...