I’ve drafted this to pitch for a translation into French . Even  I’m impressed. Is this really my novel?  I have the Stars Artists to thank . This novel is about them. Not only are they incredibly talented but they are also COURAGEOUS. They put their freedom on the line for their beliefs. I want the world to know about them – that’s why I took ten years researching,  interviewing  Qu Leilei  in depth , visiting China, writing it and struggling to get it published.

 

 

Brushstrokes in Time: a novel about the Stars artists (Beijing 1979) Pinselstriche : Drachenhaus Verlag : https://www.drachenhaus-verlag.com 

The trial of the first leader of the Democracy Movement Wei Jingsheng was in 1979. The writers, poets, artists and a democracy activists knew each other.

 Star Art Movement founder, Qu Leilei, secretly recorded Wei’s trial using a state of the art recorder leant by the French embassy. Wei’s defence was then written on the Democracy Wall by Xu Wenli and Liu Qing. They were arrested , jailed and the Democracy Wall was demolished.

The Nine Lives of Qu Leilei by Sylvia Vetta for the Oxford TimesQu Leilei Castaway

Andy Cohen found 40 minutes of contemporary film about the Stars of Beijing Spring:  https://www.beijingspringfilm.com/

Stars artists who emigrated to France

Li Shuang:  

Because of her radical movement in art and politics, and her relationship with a French diplomat, Emmanuel Bellefroid, Li was arrested by the government and received a two-year sentence. This led to a political tension between China and France at the time. Later an agreement was made between the two countries and Li was released. This incident abolished the banned interracial marriage in China. In 1984, Li decided to leave China and reside in Paris to pursue her study of art

Ma Desheng: One of the 4 founders  who led the Stars March to  Tiananmen  Square under the banner In politics we want democracy and in art freedom. Ma is on crutches because he suffered from Polio as a child . He settled in France in 1986.

 

Wang Keping: Sculptor: This Stars artist also relocated to France. Sylvia says, ‘When I asked him what he felt on  the morning of the march,  he replied “ I burned all my diaries all my letters , anything with a name on because I didn’t think I’d be coming back.’

 Endorsements of Brushstrokes in Time 

Seventy 5 star on Amazon

1 Shrenik Rao Editor of the Madras Courier:

 

A Brilliant Compelling Read:

 

2 John Gittings: Chief Foreign Correspondent of the Guardian,

read it determined to find fault but says that he failed and instead endorsed it.

‘ Vetta is always accurate with a grasp of vivid detail:’

 

3 Dr Jenny Lewis: internationally renowned poet & Oxford University lecturer.

 

For me, it has to be among my top ten historical novels, certainly of this century. Utterly mesmerising and unforgettable:

 

4 Ray Foulk: Founder of the Isle of Wight Festival & author of Stealing Dylan from Woodstock.

I could not put this page-turner down. As I reached the end just one thought dominated: everyone should read this book. No one I’ve ever come across has managed to tell the story of modern Chinese politics, arts and society in such accessible, imaginative and compelling a fashion.

 

5 Dr Maria Jashok: (LMH Oxford University) Maria lived in China between 1980-1996.

Moving but never mawkish, informed yet entirely accessible.  

Lady Moyra Bannister: Absolutely brilliant! 

 https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/14309796.review-brushstrokes-time-sylvia-vetta/

http://madrascourier.com/books-and-films/brushstrokes-in-time/http://elizabethmapstone.co.uk/2016/03/05/china-through-fiction/

https://substack.com/home/post/p-156374043  Maryse on BiT

Dr Joy Zhang University of Kent China studies made three short video interviews with Sylvia on letting the world know about the courageous Stars Artists.   https://www.facebook.com/TheMeridianSociety/videos/1141067562675489/
https://www.facebook.com/TheMeridianSociety/videos/1141567299292182/
https://www.facebook.com/TheMeridianSociety/videos/1147685558680356/