This short book contains plenty of deeply personal and complicated philosophical, religious, and moral questions. Wiesel, a great writer, has the ability to take simple ideas and make them blossom into complex yet understandable arguments. Anyone who has grappled with life, society, and humanity will sense a kinship while reading this. As a survivor of the Final Solution, Wiesel has an undeniably unique and tortured perspective from which to view the universe. This is a difficult book, challenging one's belief that humanity has learned nothing from centuries of mass murder, genocide, and war, except perhaps how to carry out these atrocities more efficiently and remorselessly, with an added dose of nationalistic self-righteousness. Although religion has no role in my life, the queries of God regarding "why", "how", and "still" remain valid as they are useful questions, even if answers or explanations from "on high" are not forthcoming. For me, this is more of a thinking book than a feeling book, but ultimately it is a powerful read.