Penny Allen, born in Portland, Oregon, discovered theater and created several shows in English and French before turning to cinema, where, still in Portland, she wrote, directed and produced two features, Property and Paydirt. She then lived in Central Oregon for nine years before moving to Paris, where she first worked on environmental issues and published two books, one on the environment, Metaphors for Change, the other a memoir, A Geography of Saints. She then returned to cinema with The Soldier’s Tale, Late for My Mother’s Funeral (in French and Arabic) and The Didier Connection. She has lived in France for thirty years and is working on a new movie.
This Rescue Thing
What lengths would you be willing 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…
Early review of This Rescue Thing:
Long awaited, Penny Allen’s This Rescue Thing will finally reach its audience. Frank and engaging throughout, the author and her close friend, Sansan, are adventurers generally averse to boredom. As the pages turn, we find each is in sore need of being rescued. Set primarily in Thailand, with recurrent passages in Paris and Portland, Allen’s worldly account dives deep into the true nature of friendship, the risk versus benefit ratio of stepping far beyond one’s essential comfort zone.
Several characters explored herein turn out to be complex and resilient. Twists and turns unveil delusion and paranoia. Each luminary regularly stirs the pot. Having read versions of this work of art pre and post our last millennium’s departure, I find Allen’s timeless amalgam particularly rich and ripe. Telling you more would reveal too much, teasing hope and despair. Read assured. Planetary voyageurs and like-minded dreamers of any age and place will find themselves equally well-served and satisfied. This is great Camembert.
-David Milholland, author, editor, filmmaker and president/co-founder of the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission
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