Brushstrokes in Time
This superbly researched and beautifully told fictional memoir is about love, art, and post-Mao China. It is directly inspired by the famous Stars Art movement.
Brushstrokes in Time is a fictional memoir by Chinese artist, Little Winter, who tries to re-establish the bond with her American daughter, telling the story of her emotional and rebellious past.
While growing up in Communist China, Little Winter joins ‘The Stars’ art movement for freedom of speech in an era where self-expression and love was a dangerous act. Little Winter and her haunting love story connects us to a time of hope for freedom, and to a man frustrated by being kept in small shoes.
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Weaving real events and Stars artists (including Ai WeiWei) with the fictional, this moving story shines a light on the internal workings of China and gives us an engaging heroine who rises above oppression to discover love, hope and success.
Frank Sieren, Asia Expert
Brushstrokes in Time narrates a compelling story. Rooted in history, with richly imagined settings and unforgettable characters, this novel presents a vivid picture of what life was like in China during the Cultural Revolution.
Shrenik Rao, Editor, Madras Courier
Whether describing how students were ‘sent to the countryside’ in the Cultural Revolution or how, after Mao died, young artists hung their experimental work outside the national art gallery, Vetta is always accurate with a grasp of vivid detail.
John Gittings, The Guardian foreign corespondent
Moving but never mawkish… A deeply informed portrayal of the little-known but important Stars Arts Movement.
Prof Maria Jaschok, Oxford University
Sylvia Vetta
Freelance writer, author and speaker, Sylvia Vetta took up writing and broadcasting in 1998, when she began writing for The Oxford Times.
Sylvia was the only girl in her estate in Luton to pass the 11+ and access higher education. She married Indian born academic Atam Vetta, when mixed relationships were viewed with hostility.
