FLIGHT

Strand peels away layers of tension in a Midwestern family as one of its members prepares for her marriage. Will Gruen grew up on a Michigan farm but got his wings in the Air Force during Vietnam. After 30 years as a TWA pilot, he's staring his mandatory retirement in the face—but he's plotting a way to remain airborne. His wife, Carol, always wanted to be an entrepreneur; her latest grand plan involves turning the family farm into a bed-and-breakfast—with or without Will's consent. But Will and Carol can't act on their plans until they host a wedding for their youngest daughter, Leanne, who's having some unpleasant pre-wedding jitters. Eldest daughter Margaret has always been the most organized family member, but when her precarious open marriage begins to fall apart and her orderly life is threatened, she realizes that she has never really been in control. Through shifting points of view, Strand writes convincingly, if not scintillatingly, of the Gruen family as they face down their demons and reach out for their dreams in this solid debut. Agent, Nat Sobel. (May)