Brushstrokes in Time written by Sylvia Vetta is a memoir of fictional Chinese artist, Little Winter, is written for her American daughter. It takes the story of Communist China beyond the death of Mao and for the first time in fiction shows the birth of the radical art movement, The Stars, in 1979. Her haunting love story connects us to this time of hope for freedom of expression in China, and to a man frustrated by 'being kept in small shoes'. Superbly researched and beautifully told, this story brings to life recent Chinese history and explains Chinese politics.