SEA-WYF, by J. M. Scott (255 pp.; Dutton; $3.50), is a seaworthy adventure novel with probably the most ingeniously constructed plot in the whole castaways-on-a-raft class. The story starts with a series of cryptic messages in the agony column of a London newspaper. The key message: "Sea-Wyf: Intend to find you by publishing story of 14 weeks and Number Four. Biscuit."
These mystifying words fascinate the book's narrator, an adventure-hungry journalist who uncovers the story behind the messages. He learns about the sinking of a refugee-crammed ship out of Singapore in 1942. Four of the ship's survivors lived 14 weeks on a...
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