Ready, Set, Oh
By Diane Josefowicz
Now available from Bookshop and other fine book retailers
Publication date: May 3, 2022
Print ISBN: 978-1-7364033-4-1
eBook ISBN: 978-1-7364033-5-8
Advance information sheet
Press release
A portion of the proceeds from Ready, Set, Oh goes to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, a social change organization dedicated to creating a social, political, and economic environment in which violence against women no longer exists.
Photo by Howard Romero
Home page photo: Providence, Rhode Island, by Dougtone is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
About the author
Diane Josefowicz's fiction and essays have appeared in Conjunctions, Fence, Dame, LA Review of Books, and elsewhere. As a historian, she is the author, with Jed Z. Buchwald, of two histories of Egyptology, The Riddle of the Rosetta (2020) and The Zodiac of Paris (2010), both from Princeton University Press; and a novella, L'Air du Temps (1985), forthcoming from Regal House. She serves as reviews editor at Necessary Fiction and director of communications for Swing Left Rhode Island, a progressive political organization focused on electoral work, voter protection, and voting rights. She holds an MFA from Columbia University, a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a BA from Brown University. She grew up outside Providence, where she now lives with her family. Ready, Set, Oh is her first novel.
About Ready Set Oh
Diane Josefowicz’s debut novel, Ready, Set, Oh, is set against the upheavals of the Sixties and 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.
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?
“Josefowicz brings humanity, warmth and disarming humor to lovable, struggling characters, exploring their affinities and conflicts. ”
“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.”
“Josefowicz details her characters’ loves and losses with a delicate yet breathtaking precision, exposing nuances of political upheaval and secrets of the heart.”
Praise for READY, SET, OH:
“...Insightful, sometimes heartbreaking, and often hilarious…”
“Head back to Providence circa 1967 for a gripping exploration of the lives of three adults struggling with questions of who they are and who they’re meant to be.”
“Part love story, part coming-of-age novel, part political drama, the story follows several characters trying to make sense of their lives in a tumultuous time in the country’s history.”
“A compelling and especially engaging story from first page to last.”
“Josefowicz finds the large truths in our smallest state, leaving an indelible mark on our broader literary landscape. A stunning debut.”
“Every chapter bursts out of the gate in this devastatingly funny, high-intensity novel of working-class Rhode Island.”
“Darkly humorous, searingly poignant, and seamlessly wrought in sure-handed prose, Diane Josefowicz’s Ready, Set, Oh encompasses both the familiar and the wildly imaginative.”
“…An enthralling novel about some of the most interesting things there are: the Sixties, love, UFOs, and strange manuscripts.”
“Each of Diane Josefowicz’s characters is fascinatingly distinct: I couldn’t help but root for them all.”
“From the first word, I was plugged into this novel and continued to be surprised and delighted throughout...”
“With Ready, Set, Oh, Diane Josefowicz has crafted a riveting narrative of risk and redemption against the backdrop of utterly convincing Sixties turmoil.”
“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.”
“With great tenderness and wit, Diane Josefowicz explores the particular intensity of coming of age in turbulent times. In beautiful, evocative prose, she captures the longings and anxieties of a group of young people caught up in civil unrest and the anti-war movement.”