Die Buiteveld by John Miles

Die Buiteveld (First Edition Afrikaans Novel, Shortlisted 2004)

A Haunting Afrikaans Novel of Guilt, Atonement and Identity Set in Portugal, by Author of Kroniek uit die doofpot

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Die Buiteveld: Roman
• Author: John Miles
• Publisher: Human & Rousseau, Kaapstad
• Publication Date: 2003
• ISBN-13: 9780798143745
• ISBN-10: 0798143746
• Edition Details: First Edition (Eerste uitgawe), softcover.
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated paper wrappers, perfect bound with glued spine.
• Physical Format: Large softcover (trade paperback) format.
• Language: Afrikaans

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Wraps: The illustrated paper wrappers are clean and bright to the front cover, with no visible tears. The red spine with white lettering carries a dark smudge or mark towards the lower end near the title and publisher device, possibly a scuff or label remnant. The lower front corner is slightly bumped and creased at the bottom of the fore-edge. There is a small light spot on the back cover near the quotation, and faint rubbing or staining at the upper left edge of the back cover.
• Interior: The text block is clean and tight, with no foxing and no markings. The page edges are lightly toned to cream, with minor yellowing at the bottom corner.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Die Buiteveld, subtitled Roman, was published by Human & Rousseau in Cape Town in 2003. It is an Afrikaans novel by John Miles, set largely in northern Portugal, and follows Smerski, a Portuguese language expert on holiday.

On that holiday Smerski meets a young woman who reminds him of a Goya painting. She upsets his ordered life and forces him to face what he has tried to bury: blood on his hands and a mystery from Angola. In the story Smerski is in truth a fugitive soldier, and the narrative moves between Portugal and South Africa.

Themes of guilt, atonement, colonisation and identity run through the book, which one critic read as dealing with a new kind of injustice rather than the apartheid-era wrongs of Miles's earlier Kroniek. The novel was shortlisted in 2004 for the W.A. Hofmeyr Prize and the RAU Prize, and has drawn scholarly attention in academic journals.

A collectible first edition of a prize-shortlisted work by a significant Afrikaans novelist, in clean and sound condition.

Author Profile: John Miles

John (Johannes Daniel) Miles was born in Port Elizabeth on 1 August 1938 and matriculated at Erasmus High School in Bronkhorstspruit. He held an MA in sociology and an honours degree in Afrikaans, and lectured in Afrikaans at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg.

He co-founded the Afrikaans publisher Taurus, established in the 1970s to publish books that mainstream houses were unwilling to issue under the Publications Act. His best-known novel is Kroniek uit die doofpot (1991), and his later works include Voetstoots (2009) and Op 'n dag, 'n hond (2016).

Die Buiteveld John Miles · John Miles Afrikaans novel · Afrikaans first edition Human & Rousseau · W.A. Hofmeyr Prize shortlist novel · Afrikaanse roman Portugal Smerski · John Miles Kroniek uit die doofpot author