Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Russo is out with a new novella, "Nate in Venice," published online through Byliner.

Nate, a retired professor from a New England college, travels to Venice with his brother Julian after a self-imposed exile following an incident with a student.

From the USA Today review:

The story, after a slow start, turns into vintage Russo. It's driven as much by its flawed and aspiring characters as its sense of place...

Nate, who's full of self-doubt, hides a "secret fear that he's led a life other than the one he was intended for."

Julian, who's "seldom right but never in doubt," is a salesman who boasts he can sell anything. But Nate says Julian has "only sold one thing: Julian.'"

Nate, as he confides to a woman on the tour, is a career bachelor whose "true love has always been Jane Austen."

EXCERPT: "Nate in Venice"

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