Weaving real events and the creative minds that called themselves The Stars, Brushstrokes in Time, is a revealing debut novel by Sylvia Vetta. In Brushstrokes in Time, Vetta takes the reader back to 1963, when Chairman Mao was still presiding over China but takes us beyond the death of Mao and for the first time in fiction shows the birth of the radical art movement, The Stars, in 1979. At the heart of this book is the period which saw the creation of the China we know today. The reader does not need to know anything about China to access this book and find the story of Little Winter (Xiaodong ) a compelling read. Walk in Little Winter's shoes and at the end of that emotional journey the reader will have learned a great deal about that complex culture and country. At the centre of the novel is the story of Winnie ? previously known as Little Winter, a mother describing her life story to her American daughter, pivoting between the past and present, introducing her daughter to loves passed and tragedies experienced - expressing emotions that have not only shaped her life but also in a way, her daughter's. Live their lives, find yourself consumed by their hopes, successes and fears and cherish a love story as it unfurls.