The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland: book review

Set in Rome and Florence in the seventeenth century, The Passion of Artemisia (2002) is a story of the emerging talent of Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653), the most famous female artist in the history of Italy.

Her father, Orazio, is an artist who teaches his daughter the passion of painting. He introduces her to Agostino to teach her perspective. Agostino promises marriage as he abuses her body, but at his trial it is she who is tortured and humiliated by the Inquisition. She leaves Rome and marries Pietro, an artist in need of her dowry. He does not mind her career as a painter as she strives for professional acceptance, but is angered when she is boldly admitted to the Accademia del Disegno in Florence before him. Their relationship gradually diminishes and Artemisia spends more time with her paintings and her daughter, Palmira, turning at this time to her scientist friend Galileo Galilei who espouses his controversial theories on astronomy.

She describes Galileo as “not particularly handsome, he was an intelligent man capable of kindness, a man whose gallantry was sincere, a man easy for an intelligent woman to love … in spite of the incredulity of his ideas, an affinity of the mind drew us together.” They were also both taking risks in their careers. Soon afterwards, for his beliefs in astronomy, Galileo was brought before the Inquisition in Rome, tried for heresy, and threatened with torture (see book review of Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel, December 14, 2010)

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Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

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