[en] The goal of nuclear structure theory is to build a comprehensive microscopic framework in which properties of nuclei and extended nuclear matter, and nuclear reactions and decays can all be consistently described. Due to novel theoretical concepts, breakthroughs in the experimentation with rare isotopes, increased exchange of ideas across different research areas, and the progress in computer technologies and numerical algorithms, nuclear theorists have been quite successful in solving various bits and pieces of the nuclear many-body puzzle and the prospects are exciting. This article contains a brief, personal perspective on the status of the field. (paper)