Crítics MatinersDiane Josefowicz

In 1985, the shooting of Mr. Marfeo disrupts the quiet suburban neighborhood of Maple Bay and prompts thirteen-year-old Zinnia Zompa to reorganize everything she knows about her parents—their preoccupations, obsessions, and above all, their battles with each other. As her understanding of the world grows, Zinnia sees how the violence she witnesses is part of a larger pattern of domination, one that shadows the world far beyond her neighborhood, and her coming-of-age means reckoning with this darkness.

Praise for L'Air du Temps (1985)

“It’s 1985, the MTV flag is on the moon, and Lincoln Continentals are triplicating in the New England suburb of Maple Bay, where everyone who’s not in jail or divorce court is going off the deep end. A vintage murder-mystery that’s evergreen as a chemically-treated lawn, this smart, tight novella is the arresting and singular cry of thirteen-year-old Zinnia Zompa, who’s troubling the shadows, swerving toward an awakening that might or might not be her ticket out of town.” —Kirstin Allio, author of Buddhism for Western Children, winner of the Iowa Review Prize for Fiction

Set in Providence, RI, during the late Sixties, Ready, Set, Oh chronicles the struggles of a man who has just lost his draft deferment, a young pregnant woman with fragile mental health, and a UFO-chasing astronomer, each hostages in their own way to their families and to history.

"Compelling and especially engaging ... Showing a genuine flair for originality and an exceptional gift for narrative-driven storytelling, Ready, Set, Oh is unreservedly recommended for community libraries and contemporary fiction collections." — Midwest Book Review

“Josefowicz finds the large truths in our smallest state, leaving an indelible mark on our broader literary landscape. A stunning debut.”—Jacob M. Appel, author of Einstein's Beach House

“Every chapter bursts out of the gate in this devastatingly funny, high-intensity novel of working-class Rhode Island.”—Kirstin Allio, author of Buddhism For Western Children

“Ready, Set, Oh gives you the quahogs, the red gravy, the Italian-from-Italy suits. A story this big could only take place in Rhode Island.”—William Walsh, author of Forty-Five American Boys

Set against the upheavals of the Sixties, Diane Josefowicz's debut Ready, Set, Oh chronicles the struggles of a man who has just lost his draft deferment, a young pregnant woman with fragile mental health, and a UFO-chasing astronomer, each hostages in their own way to their families and to history.

“Lively, clear, and true to its period, Ready, Set, Oh is a spyglass shaped by a historian’s sensibility, offering a peek into an era with ironies and hopes in backtalk to our own.” — Edie Meidav

“A riveting narrative of risk and redemption set against a backdrop of utterly convincing Sixties turmoil. Here are characters in roiling circumstances you will not soon forget, presented in the searing prose of an authentic artist. Few writers are capable of a first novel of such potency.” -- William Giraldi 

Providence, Rhode Island, 1967. Tino Battuta returns home from medical school in disgrace and without his draft deferment to attend his grandfather's funeral and to spend time with the love of his life, Primrose Tirocchi. Primrose, an art student, has an abusive home life and serious mental health challenges. But Primrose has plans: she is writing The Book of Love with her best friend while dreaming about living in New York and showing her art in galleries. Tino has a dream as well: to escape the war.

Complicating matters, Primrose is soon carrying Tino's baby. Tino isn't giving her the ring she wants, but Primrose isn't so sure about their relationship either. Soon Primrose falls for Lupo Light, a budding astronomer with a deferment, who is caught up in a popular movement to link political liberation to a wave of UFO sightings.

While Tino and his best friend work on a boat that could be their ticket to Canada, Primrose joins the Students for a Democratic Society while trying to keep a grasp on her tenuous mental health.

Together, Primrose and Tino discover the limits of their finite possibilities as well as the fragility of their resilience. Ultimately, they must confront the question: how much choice do we really have in the paths our lives take?