"The Copper Nail" by C J Lambert

A story of buried treasure which packs an enormous emotional punch.

I read this  book when I was a kid, over fifty years ago. The ending made me cry then; it makes me cry again. 

Pedro is a poor Chilean with an Incan heritage whose family scratches a living in a small-holding in the Andes. He is rescued from poverty by Father Domingo and goes to live with the monks, learning to read and write, but when he discovers that the Incas buried their treasure in the farm above his parents,  he leaves the monastery to work for the cruel and racist Don Silva. Forced away from here he goes to seek work in the city but he always dreams of returning to find the tree with the copper nail which will guide him to the treasure.

It is hugely innocent. The racism in the story is gently explored, with constant reminders that Pedro is "the son of a proud race which has lived here through the centuries" (Ch 2). But sex is absent. As he is growing up "many girls had tried to win his affection but he laughed off their obvious intentions" (Ch 9). Pedro is pure and trusting. Even when, destitute and sleeping rough, and handsome, "The butcher smiled, and patted his knee. 'I've taken a fancy to you, and I think we shall get on well together'." (Ch 8), which to a modern eye looks like the sinister start of gay paedophilia, there is no suggestion of sex. 

It is a strangely structured story: most of Pedro's adventures occur in the first half. Perhaps this is the secret to the incredible power of the denouement. It is almost an inversion of the classic story structure in which the central act involves ever greater trials and tribulations after the mid-point until the three-quarters mark when the hero starts to fight his way to success. In this tale the final trial, and it is a severe one, is left until almost the last page. By then you have completely built in to the reality of Pedro and his family and you are rooting for this charming young man all the way. And then ... pow.

Some memorable moments:

• "The boy gasped as he flirted the icy river water over his face and neck." (Ch 2) I hadn't encountered the word' flirted' with such a meaning before. 
• "After making two piles of the fruit, Father Domingo asked Pedro to choose which he fancied. 'It's the only way to make a fair division,' he said, smiling. 'One divides and the other chooses'." (Ch 2) I have remembered this all my life and have always tried to follow its precept. As a philosophy it is brilliant and I wish it was more widely practised in the world.
• "It was easy to pray when everyone around you was doing it too, but it hadn't seemed so worth while since. Most people seemed to pray when they wanted something badly; it wasn't so easy to remember when things were going well." (Ch 13)

The last few pages were difficult to read. I was weeping and gulping for air. A superb read.

March 2021; 158 pages.

This review was written by
the author of Motherdarling