Portuguese Irregular Verbs

creio, dou, digo, durmo, faco, hei, vou, leio, ouco, peco, posso, ponho, quero, sei, sou, trago, vejo, venho.

Alexander McCall Smith's novel Portuguese Irregular Verbs (New York: Anchor Books, 2003. Amazon Link) features a scholar who searches for recognition and love, both of which slip through his fingers at the last moment.

"He brought himself to order. There was no point in self-pity, which was something he invariably disliked in others. No; he would not allow himself to be discouraged. He had much to be proud of in this life; much for which he should be grateful. He was, after all Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld. That, on its own, would have been quite enough; but there was more: he was the author of Portuguese Irregular Verbs, and that was something that would forever be associated with his name, just as when people thought of Thomas Mann they thought of ...
"Von Igelfeld stopped. Then he laughed, which made Prinzel swerve the car slightly; before he righted it and they continued their journey back to Germany, where they belonged." (p. 128).

This quote begins with a reference to "order" which is a Wisdom Literature theme, and a theme which Ecclesiastes challenges. Good things do not always happen to good people. Von Igelfeld also seems to lament this lack of order as he does his best to make wise and careful decisions, but to no avail. Yet, to be honest, he has much to be grateful for, and that thought brings him to contentment, another major theme in Ecclesiastes (e.g. 3:22). Ecclesiastes advocates acceptance of the lot that God has given each person. Smith's book closes with von Igelfeld going back to his allotted place, "Germany, where they belonged."