The Black Mountain, by Alan Hillgarth

In my review of Operation Mincemeat, I mentioned that several of the players in this scheme to create a fictional airman to carry fictional documents to trick a very real enemy were novelists themselves.  One of those key figures, Alan Hillgarth, who, at that time, was naval attache in Spain, spent some time in South America searching for gold.  Out of his experiences there, he wrote The Black Mountain. 

Set in Bolivia in the early decades of the 20th century, The Black Mountain follows the exploits of an Indian boy of mixed heritage who leaves his village for good.  He ends up being taken in by a wealthy landowner, and, due to his relatively fair complexion, ends up blending in with the Spanish upper class.  As he matures, he comes to identify more with the Indians, and is swept up in the movement for Bolivia's independence.

At first, The Black Mountain reminded me of a Robert Louis Stevenson novel, with the young man heading off for adventure.  But it probably owes more to Rudyard Kipling's Kim, which follows the adventures of an Indian orphan during British colonial rule in India.  In fact, on the dust jacket, some editions of The Black Mountain call it "the story of a Bolivian 'Kim.'"

I didn't love this book, but I enjoyed it, mostly as an historical relic.  I'm not sure I would sit down and read a history of Bolivia, but Hillgarth captures a slice of it, while raising the questions of native rights, national independence, and colonialism.  Good luck finding a copy, though.  It's out of print, and most copies for sale online are pretty pricey.  I got it through inter-library loan.