Juggling a love triangle in 'Circus'

In Susan Crandall's new novel, The Flying Circus (* * * out of four stars), we're reminded that immigrants from many different countries and backgrounds have faced discrimination in this country -- and found grace here, as well.

Set in the 1920s, the book -- Crandall's follow-up to Whistling Past the Graveyard -- has as its hero 18-year-old Henry Schuler, whose German parents arrive in Indiana before World War I. The family is subject to brutal bigotry, revealed through Henry's recollections, and Henry loses his mother, father and siblings to various misfortunes. He takes refuge in the barn of a kindly farmer -- whose wife and daughters, unfortunately, prove not as generous of spirit.

When we meet Henry, he is running from a crime he may or may not have committed. In a field, he watches a plane flown by a man collide with a motorcycle ridden by a young woman. Gil, the pilot, is a military veteran running from his own tormented past. Cora, the biker, is a feisty heiress whose family has lost its fortune; she's most concerned about not being "brokered and sold" into marriage, as she describes it to Henry.

Using the plane, they form a daredevil act and, inevitably, a family, though somewhat predictable tensions arise. When Cora and Gil initially clash, we know that different kinds of sparks will follow. This sets off jealous pangs in Henry, who grows increasingly distracted by Cora's coltish beauty, even while agonizing over the possibility of being caught on the lam.

Aspects of the plot and characters can seem contrived, particularly as Circus speeds toward its heart-tugging conclusion. While Henry spends much of his time feeling guilt-ridden for not considering others more, his actions are almost unerringly noble, even when his virtue threatens to thwart his well-honed survival skills. And the sassy,willful Cora can seem more like a classic film comedy heroine than a real teenage girl.

Still, Crandall has written an absorbing and frequently touching story that reminds us of the challenges of forming new communities with different people -- and the rewards.

The Flying Circus

By Susan Crandall

Gallery, $26, 357 pp.

3 stars out of four