But look at it from that angle, and it's basically the same moral as Candide: The world isn't fair, if there is a master plan it's not on your side, just worry about what you can do and plant your garden.

Yes, that was my exact take-away from it. I found it interesting - but confusing at first, because the "chorus" of people lecturing to Job basically repeated (ad nauseum) messages from the previous books of the bible about belief in God and that Job MUST have sinned and needed to confess it; IOW, they sounded like the Old Prophets, Moses and Isiah and so forth; so I though at first they were 'the authors voice' so to speak, until I realized something quite different was afoot.

Now I'll have to re-read it and Candide and see if my impression is correct. I'm amused by the notion that it's really one of the great underrated and overlooked pieces of Western literature. I want bragging rights, damnit!

BTW - I've never read Lovecraft; what starting point would you recommend to a novice?