Karen V. Wasylowski: May 2013

Friday, May 17, 2013

DOWNTON ABBEY PARODIES: The Glorious and The Profane

There is no one I know who loves DOWNTON ABBEY more than I do. Of course, besides my husband, I know so few people who actually watch the show. My Downton friends are all my friends on Facebook and Twitter. I seem to have more in common with them.

And, as silly a person as I am, I seem to love the parodies of Downton Abbey just as much. Here are some of the very best I've seen. Absent is the WORST - Jimmy Kimmel's Downton Sixbey, which, surprisingly, wasn't that funny. Also absent is the very BEST, the Saturday Night Live parody that was supposedly a commercial for Downton that played on SPIKE TV. (who can forget the announcer and that snarky voice - "and what about those three Grantham sisters - there's hot Lady Mary... and way hot Lady Sybil, and... the other one.) That was hilarious and someday I'll add that to my collection here. So, without further ado - DOWNTON ABBEY...

and last, but not least

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

THIS AND THAT THURSDAY, and Henry Cavill...

FUN ON PLANET KLYSTRON 9: Why are 90% of Weather Girls pregnant?

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Size doesn't matter...size doesn't matter...size doesn't matter...

to Lara Pulver

Doesn't it get kind of tiresome to hear about sex ALL the time, like it's just been discovered. "Oh boy, the writing on this show is SO modern - they said penis and shit (I don't mean literally SHIT, I just mean "AND MORE THINGS LIKE PENIS)." I read a quote from Lara Pulver, (who is only famous because she was completely naked on 'Sherlock') now starring on a new show, DaVinci's Demons - she described the show as being "Full Of 'Sex, Violence, Religion, Philosophy..." OOOH - never heard of those things before - all in one place like that. Oh wait, Lara, that pretty much describes THE BIBLE.

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PRETTY MUCH JUST AN EXCUSE TO PUT PICTURES OF COLIN UP

Why did Colin Firth not have eyebrows when he was young and now he does?

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AND NOW A MOMENT WITH ST. MARTIN SCORSESE...

We purchased a new Sony 36" television set for the bedroom. It is long and narrow, HD, PDQ, SVU, 1080Megwatts, or something like that. It is bigger than the set we had before, that's all I know; so, can someone tell me why the picture does not fill the entire screen? It seems that no matter what size set you buy, there is a band of black at the top and at the bottom of the screen. It's the Martin Scorsese effect. Martin Scorsese insists that we must have this to appreciate movies the way they were filmed, for the theater screens. Apparently, I will miss the entire gist of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers if I don't see Brothers 1, 2, and 6 and 7 dancing their little hearts out. Martin wants me to see those guys really, really badly.

Guess what, Marty? I don't give a shit about those guys. No! You know what else I don't give a shit about. I don't give a shit about the trees to the far right, or that lamp to the far left. I just care about the people in the middle, and, unless there is a deviant sexual act going on somewhere to the left, I'd rather focus on the center. I really, really don't like the narrow screen and someone should tell Martin Scorsese to stop messing with them. Watching movies on TV now is like watching through a slot in a door, and the smaller the set, the smaller the movie becomes. And Why? So that I can see Auntie Eller ring the triangle for supper in Oklahoma. And, if I expand the screen to fill the glass, I can't see the basketball scores on the top, nor can I see the stock market numbers, or the weather on the bottom.

Someone go slap Martin Scorsese for me.

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Who was the idiot that put little red pants on Superman in the first place?

REVIEW BY DEE SWIFT OF DARCY AND FITZWILLIAM

Darcy and Fitzwilliam by Karen Wasylowski

I am not a particularly fanatical Austen fan, certainly not a purist, but I do like the wit of Jane Austen, and so was ready to embrace the tale of Darcy and his cousin with open arms. I was not disappointed. What impressed me most about this book was that it was the feel of Austen, but updated. It is very difficult to be funny in an Austen-esque way and still be fresh. Too often the humour doesn't properly succeed. But the impact that Austen must have had in her day is all here, in this laugh-out-loud romp through Darcy's post wedding adventures, and those of his irrepressible "brother".

I was unprepared for just how funny the book would be. The scene where Lizzie is giving birth, with Amanda's small, curious, stiffly-educated son looking on, is hilarious, and had my husband wondering why I was laughing so much. Even the servants have been wittily expanded, and the book is funny because it is so well-observed. It pokes fun at regency attitudes to women, and gently lampoons the mores and morals of the time. There is also a sense in which the English themselves are satirized, and this is refreshing, but not at all offensive.

After the initial forty or so pages of set-up the book fairly sweeps along with misunderstandings aplenty, and it is no slight volume. The characters have to be impeccably constructed for the situation comedy to work, and Karen Wasylowski has done this thoroughly, also the research on her period and The Peninsula War gives the reader just the right amount of setting.
A great read, that works whether you have read any Austen or not.

THE CALICO CRITIC

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Karen Wasylowski has done a fine job with these Austenian characters. She has stayed true to the original vision of their temperaments, yet brings new aspects of who they are to light. Their witty repartee is always fun, as they regularly jab at each other in non-cynical brotherly ways. Darcy and the Colonel passionately love their women, sometimes going to extremes to protect them and those they love. There is much drama in this narrative, although it doesn’t cross over into melodrama in the least.

There was more than one night when I had trouble putting the book down to go to bed!Being the men who they are, there are a few moments that are a bit PG-13 as far as language and sexual content. I mention this only for those who are particular about these issues or are considering this for young readers. Most of the bedroom material is within the confines of marriage, and Wasylowski doesn’t go overboard with frequent gratuitous moments of intimacy or colorful tirades.

Thank heavens this isn’t some tawdry bodice-ripper with blue dialog every other minute.

Darcy and Fitzwilliam was an enjoyable read. Karen provides a epilogue that occurs decades after the main story, and I think she could easily draft a sequel in the future. I readily enjoyed her treatment of these characters and hope she continues to revisit this world. Her work is page turning, humorous, maddening (Caroline!!) and touching.

This is a fine edition to the ever-growing library of Austenesque novels. It’s definitely a “bromance” worth an Austen fan’s consideration.

LINDA BANCHE REVIEW

Review: DARCY AND FITZWILLIAM: A TALE OF A GENTLEMAN AND AN OFFICER by Karen V. Wasylowski

Laugh until your sides ache and then laugh some more with Karen V. Wasylowski's delicious Darcy and Fitzwilliam: A Tale of a Gentleman and an Officer. This absorbing, fast-moving romp of a book catalogues the often hilarious ups and downs in the enduring affectionate friendship of those brothers-in-spirit, cousins Fitzwilliam Darcy and Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam.

I read this entire 481 page book in one day, laughing all the way. Ms. Wasylowski has a good ear for realistic male banter, most of it uproariously funny. The best two lines in the whole novel occur when Darcy and Fitzwilliam reminisce about their youth and the hilariously disgusting things young boys do to each other. I still laugh when I think of those lines.A truly wonderful and original take on Pride and Prejudice. I can't wait for Ms. Wasylowski's next book.

JANE AUSTEN EXAMINER

This book was a delight to read. I found the character development of Colonel Fitzwilliam particularly fascinating. Men who have seen war, especially at the grand level Wasylowski has laid out her Fitzwilliam, are hardly ever unaffected. Her portrayal of his issues and struggles are heartfelt and poignant.

It was a little heart-wrenching for me to read about Darcy’s past lover and for Elizabeth to have to deal with the reality of marrying an older man more experienced than her. I was almost angry at the author at first, but I realized what a great job she did of involving me in the storyline. I was fairly sucked in.

HISTORICAL BOOKS REVIEW

SUITE101.C0M Review

Jane Austen Books Get a Dose of Karen V. Wasylowski

Though this is only Karen V. Wasylowski's first book, it is safe to say this author has found her voice in sequels to Jane Austen classics. One of the better additions being Karen V. Wasylowski's wit and humor. I never expected to laugh so hard as I did with Darcy and Fitzwilliam. The storyline was so engaging, the plot so thick with intensity and literary genius that I was immediately roped into the novel and ultimately emotionally invested in its outcome.

Karen V. Wasylowski

Pages

Friday, May 17, 2013

DOWNTON ABBEY PARODIES: The Glorious and The Profane

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

THIS AND THAT THURSDAY, and Henry Cavill...

SONS AND DAUGHTERS

WIVES AND LOVERS

THE LEAGUE OF BRITISH ARTISTS

PINTEREST

ORANGE COUNTY CALIFORNIA REGISTER

REVIEW BY DEE SWIFT OF DARCY AND FITZWILLIAM

THE CALICO CRITIC

LINDA BANCHE REVIEW

JANE AUSTEN EXAMINER

HISTORICAL BOOKS REVIEW

SUITE101.C0M Review

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