The Game of the Pink Pagoda

This engrossing novel, first published in England, is an ingeniously constructed narrative that invites the reader to participate in an elaborate game. Opening chapters explain the ""board,'' the ``pieces,'' the ``players'' and the object of the enterprise: to weave a tale to get to the Pink Pagoda, occupy it and discover the underlying purpose of the game. Twenty-six chapters comprise a series of ``model games'' or stories involving all the players and pieces, and the author suggests that a group of 12 players is competing to see who can create the best story, given the rules of the game. The result is a charming sequence of absorbing fairy tales, in which the reader is often placed in the suspenseful role of protagonist, seeking to make his way to the Pink Pagoda against endlessly inventive obstacles. A richly fanciful book that makes one wish to return to the beginning and start over once the end is reached. (March)