Born in Northern Bohemia, the German-Jewish author Dan Weinstein (born 1925) set his futuristic novel in a ruinous post-apocalyptic world. He tells of a future in which the learning, artefacts and customs of our time exist only as ruined fragments, the purpose of which is lost to the Earth’s inhabitants. The hero Ditanu is, like everyone around him, part of a dreary, dully introverted society, yet he dares to break away from it. A playing card sets him off on this adventurous journey in which he seeks restlessly for a purpose to existence. Ditanus’ odyssey leads us to strange, mythical places and peculiar sites; with him we encounter the oddest of people: magicians, lost children, drinkers and world-weary characters are his companions on this quest for the last garden