Teaching Narcissus to Swim

Teaching Narcissus to Swim will surprise you with its clear, innocent voice and its artistic beauty. There’s nothing Greek about this book except the title reference. On the contrary, it is quintessentially American. Half Indian, half cowboy, protagonist Buck McKuen is a naïve runaway boy the morning he arrives in rough-and-tumble Ruidoso, New Mexico. He has witnessed his father’s untimely death, clashed with his brother and left his family’s ranch in the Osage Hills of Oklahoma to make his own way in a world of unexpected complexity. By summer’s end he has experienced love, loss and all the thrills which accompany one of the world’s most dangerous occupations-that of a jockey. Blessed with talent and high spirit, Buck finds himself in a world of temptation, prejudice and danger. Surrounded by men twice his age who care little if he survives or dies in a stampede of hooves and vices, Buck struggles to define himself as he experiences unrequited love, shame, comedy, tragedy and exhilarating glory. His lone ally in this fast-paced journey is Billy Powers, the charismatic, flamboyant narcissist whose friendship is both a blessing and a curse. Buck’s enemies include the vicious Wayne Carano, a skilled and ruthless jockey and Jack Harnes, a wealthy, bigoted Texan and the father of Buck’s first real girlfriend. These characters, along with others in the book, are portrayed with unflinching honesty by a masterful storyteller. Teaching Narcissus to Swim brings together scoundrels, heroes and horses in a background of intrigue and suspense. Initial reactions to the book range from wild acclaim from champion jockeys and sports commentators to complaints that it constitutes an unfair expose of a time honored sport. Veteran of a lifetime in horse racing, both as a participant and an executive, author Scott Wells puts you in the jockey’s saddle as no one else can. He also portrays, as if with firsthand knowledge, the lust, the greed and the recklessness which form an essential flaw of the male character so visible in many of today’s professional athletes. Like all good literature, Teaching Narcissus to Swim causes the reader to glimpse into the mirror of his or her own character. In this breakthrough novel, Wells portrays an archetypal American hero and his flawed mentor. Like Huck Finn and Billy the Kid on the loose together, they romp and ride through one unforgettable summer in the Land of Enchantment. This is a timeless work, performed with clarity and courage. Readers will savor it from the first page to the last.