Venice

Wisdom Tree #2

by Nick Earls

Venice is about love and the tensions that pull us apart: the love between Harrison and his uncle Ryan, who is in need of a person to belong to, Natalie, who is pulled between her art and her heart, and Phil’s awkward stilted love. Think, Nick Hornby’s About a Boy.


Nick paints the picture of Brisbane perfectly. The smells, sounds, tastes and temperature surround us as we witness Ryan’s relationships grow. A sensory wonderland that carries us on the journey.—Gyton Grantley, actor

Genres: Novella, Fiction, Australia, Contemporary, Short Stories

168 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2016

About the author

Nick Earls is the author of twelve books, including bestselling novels such as Zigzag Street, Bachelor Kisses, Perfect Skin and World of Chickens. His work has been published internationally in English and also in translation, and this led to him being a finalist in the Premier of Queensland’s Awards for Export Achievement in 1999.

Zigzag Street won a Betty Trask Award in the UK in 1998, and is currently being developed into a feature film. Bachelor Kisses was one of Who Weekly’s Books of the Year in 1998. Perfect Skin was the only novel nominated for an Australian Comedy Award in 2003, and has recently been filmed in Italy.

He has written five novels with teenage central characters. 48 Shades of Brown was awarded Book of the Year (older readers) by the Children’s Book Council in 2000, and in the US it was a Kirkus Reviews selection in its books of the year for 2004. A feature film adapted from the novel was released in Australia by Buena Vista International in August 2006, and has subsequently screened at festivals in North America and Europe. His earlier young-adult novel, After January, was also an award-winner.

After January, 48 Shades of Brown, Zigzag Street and Perfect Skin have all been successfully adapted for theatre by La Boite, and the Zigzag Street play toured nationally in 2005.

Nick Earls was the founding chair of the Australian arm of the international aid agency War Child and is now a War Child ambassador. He is or has also been patron of Kids Who Make a Difference and Hands on Art, and an honorary ambassador for both the Mater Foundation and the Abused Child Trust. On top of that, he was the face of Brisbane Marketing’s ‘Downtown Brisbane’ and ‘Experience Brisbane’ campaigns.

His contribution to writing in Queensland led to him being awarded the Queensland Writers Centre’s inaugural Johnno award in 2001 and a Centenary Medal in 2003. His work as a writer, in writing industry development and in support of humanitarian causes led to him being named University of Queensland Alumnus of the Year in 2006. He was also the Queensland Multicultural Champion for 2006.

He has an honours degree in Medicine from the University of Queensland, and has lived in Brisbane since migrating as an eight-year-old from Northern Ireland in 1972. London’s Mirror newspaper has called him ‘the first Aussie to make me laugh out loud since Jason Donovan’. His latest novel is Joel and Cat Set the Story Straight, co-written with Rebecca Sparrow.

Reviews

[PattyMacDotComma · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5~4★
“I’m a civil engineer, not someone likely to line up to lecture on civil society. I take a look at my Linkedln profile ... with the usual fantasy that I'm one smart tweak away from triggering a cascade of good offers.”

This is the second novella of Nick Earls’ Wisdom Tree collection. Ryan tells us he has been retrenched from his job in a mining camp and is temporarily staying with his artist sister and her successful dentist husband in Brisbane, Queensland, while he looks for work. He has the flat downstairs in their huge, luxurious home

He is Uncle Ryan to bright, inquisitive, four-year-old Harrison who is left largely to his own devices (literally - a LeapPad ‘computer’). Harrison is fed, bathed, and loved, and eats mostly macaroni and cheese.

Ryan enjoys Harrison’s unusual questions, like how exactly do stomach sphincters work? This would drive busy parents nuts, but Ryan has the time and interest to find YouTube videos to show the little boy.

Sister Natalie’s been invited to submit art for the Venice Biennale, which is a such a big deal, that Ryan says everyone says everyone says “Venice” in italics, which I recognised instantly as a special, excited whisper.

Her husband Phil is a lovely bloke who works long days and is awkwardly affectionate with Harrison. Ryan is the one with the natural connection, he and begins trying to slip vegetables into Harrison’s meals and ‘raise’ him properly. He takes Harrison on ‘adventures’, finding skulls for Mum’s artwork, and the boy loves it.

At one point, he refers to his friend Jeff Foster, in New York. Jeff was the protagonist of Book 1, “Gotham”, which helps tie the series together, but you don’t need to have read it to enjoy this one. And I did enjoy this one.

I listened to the audio narrated by Aussie Gyton Grantley, whom most Aussies would recognise as the actor who played Carl Williams in the TV series "Underbelly". His narration is like having a friend read to you rather than perform the story with different voices. It meant I sometimes had to figure out who was speaking, but overall, it is an enjoyable story.

My reviews of the series:

My review of Gotham- Wisdom Tree #1

My review of Venice-Wisdom Tree #2

My review of Vancouver- Wisdom Tree #3

My review of Juneau- Wisdom Tree #4

My review of NoHo- Wisdom Tree #5

[Debbie Robson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s funny how we make assumptions about a writer’s work. Take for instance myself and Nick Earls. He’s younger than me, a male and deals with contemporary issues with humour and aplomb. I’m (generally) not in to contemporary novels, preferring to hang out in the past but after hearing him speak about his new novella series, I thought this is different! How is he going to make this series work? How does he link the five novellas?
I picked up the second in the series, Venice, which he signed and I will definitely be reading the rest! Why? Quite simply because Earls knows the importance of a telling detail. Lots of details.
Ryan is out of work and living with his artist sister, babysitting her son Harrison who is obsessed with computer games. The author very skilfully creates the delicate household and Ryan’s part in it. Even the house:
“The combined lounge and dining room is the size of an entire 1950s house. My brother-in-law came out with this fact one night, after reading an article about changing house sizes. There were more people in those fifties houses, too. People sharing space, oxygen and the arrival of television, learning how not to tread on each other’s toes and live the unprivate life.”
Ryan is at a cross roads in his life and is actually more than just a babysitter. He cooks as well for the family and does odd jobs, like pickups (of what weird things you’ll find out later) for his sister’s artworks. These roles we learn are not natural ones for Ryan:
“I am fighting my instincts to chop the carrots finer. This is what my days have become. The recipe calls for three-centimetre pieces, though I’m certain some in the picture are no more than two. Hearty Beef Casserole, average rating four stars from a hundred and ten members on taste.com.au.”
As I have mentioned before in another review, magic happens when everyday lives are portrayed in such detail. The details that Earls deftly evokes build up and up until we are actually Ryan, living with the family, gradually learning more about Harrison rather than just reading about Ryan, a character in a novella set in Brisbane. Highly recommended and like me you don’t need to read the stories in order. The other four are Gotham, Vancouver, Juneau and NoHo.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slice of life. Enjoyed the relationship between uncle Ryan and nephew Harrison.

Free on Audible

[Paddy Haesler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect little read for a long weekend trip. The way this book so concisely captures the arc of relationship building between Ryan and his nephew Harrison, and efficiently builds such a believable and relatable humanity makes it a perfect little morsel. Like a divine little serving in a degustation menu - the only thing I was left wanting was more. Only, it was the perfect size for what it was aiming to achieve, and thus - 5 stars!

Full review may be coming to paddyewi.substack.com

[Angela Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning.

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about a guy who’s been made redundant and he’s living with his sister and her four year old son and a dentist husband. She’s an artist set on being featured at the Venice biennale. The guy looks after his nephew, makes dinner, runs errands. They bond and it’s really sweet. I had a horrible feeling of foreboding as I read it, like he was going to put the kid in danger but it’s actually a meditation on family. The weird thing is that the themes Miranda July raises in All Fours are present here too, the mother as artist who comes across as self-absorbed and selfish… bad mum = successful artist. The difference here is that Earls is also unimpressed with the dentist’s parenting skills, so it’s a bit more, bad parents = good capitalists.

[Deborah (debbishdotcom) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last year I heard Nick Earls speak about an upcoming project. It was something different, he explained: a series of novellas released over a five month period. All inter-related and ultimately forming a collection - The Wisdom Tree.

Earls' is intelligent and witty in person and incredibly engaging - all of which translates into (what seems to be) an effortless ability to spin a yarn.

The second novella in the series, Venice is centred around 32 year old Ryan who's staying with his sister, her husband and their 4yr old child, Harrison.

Harrison's at that age - he's like a sponge - ready and willing to absorb everything on offer. Ryan's struggling a little with his confidence and identity (which disappeared along with his job) so it feels like he and Harrison come into each others' lives at the perfect time.

Ryan's sister and her husband lead busy lives so he finds himself picking up the slack with his nephew who's much loved but seemingly a low priority in his busy parents' lives.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't remember where/when/why I bought this novella but my best guess is that it was when I was on vacation in New Zealand in 2017 (Earls is Australian). This is actually the second in a series of five linked novellas, but it works as a standalone (though I do want to go back and read the first one now). (I have a tendency to acquire books and then not read them for ages, but I like serendipity, and I feel like I generally pick up a book at the right moment. But anyway.)

Despite the title, this is set in Brisbane: the book's narrator, Ryan, is unemployed and providing childcare for his nephew Harrison because his sister Natalie (who's an artist) and her husband Phil (who's a dentist) are busy with their jobs. (We learn partway through the book that Natalie might be a contender for having her work in the Venice Biennale, hence the title.) This is a slice-of-life kind of book, albeit with some events that are more typical of most people's daily lives than others: Ryan makes pasta for Harrison for dinner and a casserole or salmon for the grown-ups; Ryan goes to the store to get some ice cream; Ryan picks up Harrison from daycare; Ryan takes Harrison with him to go pick up some horse heads because Natalie wants to use the skulls in the piece she's currently working on.

Ryan clearly has thoughts about Natalie and Phil and the way they parent their kid, but he avoids conflict with them: they're helping him out by letting him live with them (and slipping him some extra cash), after all. The interactions between Ryan and Harrison (who's four years old and never far from his LeapPad tablet) are excellent: funny and tender. And I like the glimpses we get of Natalie's art, and Ryan's take on it. At one point there's this: "Natalie tells us it's been a day about angles, and some angles are more intimate than others"; she makes sculptural groups of creatures with titles like "Family #5." But her experience of family is somewhat abstracted (at least in Ryan's view of it): "her thoughts about family, or the notion of it, are like the thoughts of astronauts looking back at a blue-white Earth." But in the end, as Ryan puts it: "Perhaps any idea about family—the felt idea, the lived-in idea—has the capacity to be greater than the sum of its parts." Which could be said about this novella, too.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Venice is Book 2 in Nick Earls’ Wisdom Tree series of novellas; it follows Gotham which I reviewed last month.

The title is a reference to the Venice Biennale, where an invitation to exhibit would be a highlight of any artist’s career. The narrator, Ryan, recently ‘let go’ from a downsized mining company, is eking out his separation payment by staying with his sister Natalie who is preoccupied with her chances at the Biennale, while her husband Phil is preoccupied with being a successful dentist. They are a very successful couple: she has an installation in the NGV; they have a Margaret Olley on the wall and a pool in the garden; there are wine fridges full of expensive French wine, and their living-dining area is the size of a house like mine. But they are not at all preoccupied by their four-year-old son Harrison. For his part, Harrison is preoccupied by his tablet.

Ryan, who keeps his thoughts to himself about all this, is worried about the amount of screen time that the child has, and the lack of meaningful interaction in his life. Harrison is programmed into a routine of events, with day care, swimming lessons and scheduled days with his mother – when she’s not too busy. And since Uncle Ryan is now the de facto manny (i.e. a male nanny) he discovers that Harrison isn’t the best swimmer in his group because (despite the pool) he doesn’t practise at home; and that he has not had a turn at show-and-tell at day-care because (as we all know) parents have to invest a bit of time in the selection of the item with which to show and tell. Ryan has not had a lot of practice at being an uncle, but he ad-libs and is able to turn to advantage events that come their way.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2016/06/01/v...

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a slice of life story. Ryan moves in with his successful sister and her successful husband while he is in a desperate financial situation after losing his job. During this time, he helps with the cooking and taking care of his young nephew.

Ryan’s POV is very critically judgmental toward the successful parents who were not spending enough time with their son, Harrison. Ryan seems to be a great influence on Harrison, which is wonderful. However, there are so many complexities to families with working parents that are completely ignored in this story. Should the parents have reprioritized the the jobs they love in order to spend more time with their son? Sure. But at the same time, they wouldn’t be in the position to afford to do that if they hadn’t worked so hard in the first place. What is the “right” balance between parents following their own professional dreams and raising a family? At what point does working hard become a negative instead of a positive? And for parents who financially have to work so much, are they also bad parents for not spending more time with their kids?

This story is one point of view that doesn’t explore anything more than that. Ryan assumes so much about his sister and her husband, but doesn’t take any time to get to know them or their feelings on any deeper level. It felt superficial and incomplete to me. With that said, this is the second in a series of novellas. I heard that they don’t need to be read in order, and I haven’t read any of the others. I don’t know if all of the individual novellas come together into a more complete picture. I didn’t really care for this story so it’s lot likely that I will continue the series.

[Oriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favourite out-of-context lines:

- "Harrison swims like a child devoted to video games... in the raw screen-free environment of actual water, he's a clear fourth-best in his class of four."
- "Where is a parent to handle this parentally?"
- "For now, everything is italicised. It's the Venice Biennale. Italics are in order."
- "People clean houses, stack shelves at Coles. All of that needs to be done. [Coles staff] will go home tonight with the certainty, or close to it, that in the morning their space in the working world will be there for them to slot into once again. Another day will begin, and they will be relevant within it. There is a value to be placed on relevance."

[Robyn Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Venice is a little gem. A 156 page gem - #2 of a series of 5 novellas. Horses heads, taxidermy, the art world, dentistry and pyloric sphincters are mixed up with nephew-minding, a down-turn in the mining industry, and the nature of family. Only Nick Earls could craft this weird and touching episode of relationships, and the unexpected threads and fibres that bind our lives together.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first piece of Nick Earls’ writing that I’ve read and I loved it! I could see everything vividly. It was like I was viewing a snapshot of this family’s life through his writing. I’m looking forward to reading the other novellas in the series.

[Siân Aston · Rating 5 out of 5]

as someone who is also recently unemployed and over-qualified, this particularly resonated with me...

[Ann Single · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a superb series. Fun and thoughtful. Bring in the novellas - a format for our times.

[Kaylee]

:(

[Terese · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the Wisdom Tree series, bite-sized snapshots. I also love reading books set in Venice, but this one wasn't set there, but had a link to the Biennale.

Book 64 of 2025

[Kate Littlejohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this story. It was like there was a second, unwritten narrative through it.......so much was said, but not spoken. I especially liked the relationship that developed between Ryan and Harrison.

[Cass Moriarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Venice is the second instalment in Nick Earls' series of five novellas, collectively entitled Wisdom Tree. After reading the first - Gotham - I had high expectations of Venice, and I was not disappointed. His writing is clear, concise, fresh, observant and perceptive. The story is a vignette of everyday life - Ryan is licking his wounds after a redundancy from the mining industry, living temporarily with his sister and her husband and their four-year-old, Harrison. He's helping out in practical ways - making meals, undertaking 'manny' duties with Harry - while he tries to sort out his life. His sister is a successful installation artist - the title refers to the Venice Biennale in which she hopes to be represented. Harrison's father is a wealthy dentist. The trappings of their lives represent the type of upper middle class lifestyle we would expect: a pool that is never used, high end art on the walls, wine fridges full of expensive wine. But it is the relationship between parents and child - and between Uncle Ryan and Harrison - that is at the heart of this tale, and what is depicted with such insight. Harry is a product of his times - he is shuttled from childcare to swimming lessons, always with his iPad (or a version of it) within reach. His mother is immersed in the production of a series of art installations entitled Family (she uses a mixture of found man-made objects and animal skeletons to recreate inanimate 'families' endowed with human features or expressions or postures.) The time she expends on this art, the energy she devotes to it, is compared and contrasted with the time and energy she devotes to her own child and to her own family. Her husband is in a similar position - as a successful dentist, he transforms people's mouths and smiles with state-of-the-art equipment and techniques, and yet he and his wife delegate (with apparent reluctance) whose turn it is to read Harry a bedtime story. This is such a poignant portrait of family dysfunction amongst perceived normality, and a moving account of the synapses and excitements that can be charged and awakened in a child by the right attention. Venice explores how to value what is in front of our faces instead of taking it for granted; it examines the real worth of a man; and it makes an important statement about parenting and families.

[Jodie Lane]

Brilliant again - Nick Earls doesn't waste a word yet you feel and see so much from the deceptively casual, chatty tone. I want to write like this one day.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another winner in the Wisdom Tree series - I think it's even better than the first, Gotham. Earls knows how to pack an emotional punch in this deceptively simple story about Ryan, a retrenched young man, who moves in with his sister and brother-in-law and their four year old son. The various relationships within the family are explored through the minutia of daily living with Earls' trademark wry and subtle observations.

With Ryan's sister Natalie being an artist, the intersection of art and family and making sacrifices are also explored. The emotions are at times heart-wrenching, particularly concerning Ryan's nephew Harrison, who has little emotional connection with his parents and forms a bond with Ryan.

A lot of story in a small package.

[Melly Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an enjoyable novella! This novella, the second in a series of 5, is beautifully written and thoroughly enjoyable.

Ryan is a man who is down on his luck. He lives with his sister Natalie, her husband Phil and their son Harrison. Natalie is an emerging artist, and Phil is a dentist. Ryan and Harrison embark on a road trip to collect something for Natalie's exhibit, and forge a strong bond.

Nick Earls has a way of writing novellas with a great amount of detail. When I finished reading Venice, I felt like I had read a 400-page novel! The descriptive language and the characters are fantastically written, and you really get drawn into the story. This novella will stay with me for some time.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5 stars. I love how Nick Earls has added little tidbits of his own life into the story - getting the horses heads, the Maggie Beer ice cream fiasco, and other. I think he has done an amazing job at depicting and reflecting ordinary Australia life. I love how the Jeff (Jeff Foster), that Tim refers to in 'Venice', is the main character from 'Gotham' - Jeff was Natalie's (Tim's sister) ex-boyfriend - I love how he made that connection between the two books. Nick Earls is an amazing story teller - he is very realistic and writes about everyday Australian life. Okay, so maybe getting the horses heads isn't really a typical task, but how it was described is very realistic. I wonder what other connections Nick Earls will make in the rest of the novellas.

[Julie]

If ever there was a series of novellas to take your breath away the one going under the collective names of the Wisdom Tree by Nick Earls is it. Venice is the second in the series and is about a man coming to terms with a recent redundancy and his now less than certain place in a world focused on work and success; beautifully layered character development and delicate observations about how the central character deals with change and loss. Having worked with people in similar situations this is an amazing sensitive portrayal of what people experience. Writing at its best. Do yourself a favour and buy the entire series - you'll want to keep them to read again.

[Kamil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite being densely packed with memorable moments and characters, 'Venice' never feels forced or contrived. The themes of family and parental priorities seep to the surface amid sharp writing that highlights hilariously true-to-life idiosyncracies, as Ryan finds himself becoming increasingly responsible for his nephew while the boy's own parents are preoccupied with careers and champagne. Earls does a splendid job of capturing a slice of modern Australian life and its effect on family relationships.

[Meredith Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second in Nick Earls “The Wisdom Tree” series of novellas is not set in Venice, but sees the city affect the life of 32 year old Ryan’s, recently retrenched and so staying with his artist sister, her dentist husband and their 4-year-old son Harrison, for whom Ryan helps care. It’s an easy-to-read story, full of authentic little details that gives endears its natural emotion with its everyday appeal.

[Kate Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one did me in. Poor little Harrison! Such a beautiful book.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was kind of heartbreaking.

[Brad Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nick earls is a talented writer. I feel happy knowing writing this good is kicking around today. When they make it look so easy, that's the stuff.

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

An endearing, intelligent and witty story - laughed out loud during the collection of the horse heads. Just wish I knew how Show & Tell came off...
Highly recommend these novellas if your reading attention span is currently feeling challenged. The perfect length.