{"product_id":"the-phoenix-pencil-company","title":"The Phoenix Pencil Company","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMonica Tsai spends most days on her computer coding for a program that seeks to connect strangers online. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA self-confessed recluse, she finds herself escaping into a digital world, counting the days until she can return home to her beloved grandparents.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThey are now in their nineties, and she worries about them – especially her grandmother Yun whose memory has begun to fade. Monica has become intent on tracking down her grandmother Yun’s long-lost cousin, Meng, before it’s too late. In her search, Monica connects with a young woman archivist who presents her with a single pencil that holds a clue to a hidden family history.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThrough this discovery Monica comes to learn of her grandmother’s years in Shanghai, working at the Phoenix Pencil Company. As WWII raged outside their door, Yun and Meng came into a power unique to the women in their family: the ability to reclaim stories from the pencils they were written with. But when government officials uncovered their secret ability, they were both forced into a life of espionage, betraying other people’s stories to survive.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThese shocking revelations set Monica on a path that will change all their lives in ways she can scarcely imagine. At once a sweeping family epic and a powerful love story with deep emotional resonance, Allison King’s brilliantly inventive debut novel pushes us to question how well we really know our own stories and the many beguiling ways they can connect our lives.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Allison King","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55869952459139,"sku":"9780008700881","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/8600\/8738\/files\/thephoenixpencilcompany.png?v=1782742506","url":"https:\/\/rarebirdsbooks.live\/products\/the-phoenix-pencil-company","provider":"Rare Birds Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}