History Literature / DogWar

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Precious gets moments of this, first with Theophilus and then with Mannish [[spoiler:and later with her pastor]].

* IllGirl: [[spoiler:Mistress Lucy at the end of the book, which prompts her to make peace with Precious]].

* RealityEnsues: Mannish, trying to chat up a woman under the belief that she's a reincarnated lover from one of your past lives, and professing to know her name when she never told it to you beforehand, will only result in her threatening to call the cops on you.

** ReincarnationRomance: Near the end of the book, Mannish spots a woman who has mannerisms similar to that of a woman named Beulah, who he claims to have romanced in a past life. The woman is even named Beulah. However, his attempt to talk to her [[RealityEnsues almost gets him arrested for harassment]]. [[spoiler:They eventually hook up anyway]].

* FantasticRacism: A bizarre case with Mistress Lucy. She cares more about the rights of animals than the rights of human beings, even going as far as to not mind at all if her dog Riccardo pees on her shoes, and she takes offense to Precious speaking out against it, calling her "speciest" (a mix of the words species and racist) for it.

** ReincarnationRomance: Near the end of the book, Mannish spots a woman who has mannerisms similar to that of a woman named Beulah, who he claims to have romanced in the past. The woman is even named Beulah. However, his attempt to talk to her almost gets him arrested for harassment. [[spoiler:They eventually hook up, however]].

* [[DeadLittleSister Dead Little Brother]]: Mannish's brother died by drowning when they were children.

* IllGirl: [[spoiler:Mistress Lucy at the end of the book, which prompts her to seek out Precious to make peace with her]].

* KickTheDog: Maud, Precious's former maid, does this to a literal dog, the Higginsons' mongrel Red Dog, long after having given him payback for chasing her up a tree. On one occasion she sticks a pepper in his food, causing him to run for the river after one bite. (And Red Dog gets this quite a lot [[AssholeVictim after he's tried to bite a number of people]].)

** PastLifeMemories: Mannish claims to remember stealing seven camels in a past life, and that the atrocities he's made to suffer now under Mistress Lucy's employment are penance for that past crime.

* AttemptedRape: [[spoiler:Henry]] sneaks into Precious's room to fondle her in Chapter 9.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex
* HeroicBSOD: Precious has a few brief moments of this after Theophilus's death, both before and after his funeral.

* SupremeChef: Henry. Put it this way: he can bake far better than Precious can.

* StrawVegetarian: Mistress Lucy, ''full stop''.

In an effort to stave off boredom, give herself something useful to do, and be able to live her own way peacefully, Precious takes up a job offer to work at the mansion of a wealthy woman, Mistress Lucy, as a live-in maid. However, hilarity ensues when she discovers that her specific job will entail caring for the woman's dog, who gets treated like a human being and happens to be rather perverted toward her...

* CovertPervert: Mannish, and the dog to some degree. [[spoiler:Henry too]].

In an effort to stave off boredom, give herself something useful to do, and be able to live her own way peacefully, Precious takes up a job offer to work at a rich woman's house as a live-in maid. However, hilarity ensues when she discovers that her specific job will entail caring for the woman's dog, who gets treated like a human being and happens to be rather perverted toward her...

* BerserkButton: Mildred, Precious's daughter-in-law, will not abide her children eating sweets.

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Mannish likes hamburgers, but he has to hide the fact from his mistress, who is a militant vegetarian. Whenever she's gone on one of her trips, he happily indulges in burgers at every opportunity.

* JerkAss: Mildred: Mildred, Harold's wife and Precious's daughter-in-law.

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Mannish likes hamburgers, but he has to hide the fact from his mistress, who is a militant vegetarian. Whenever she's gone on one of her trips, he happily indulges in burgers at every opportunity.
* ValuesDissonance: The difference between Jamaican and American poverty is discussed between Precious and Shirley.
--> '''Shirley:''' What they call poor here (USA) is a joke to us.
** Also discussed on the matter of men doing hosehold chores. Henry does it often, but Precious believes that that is woman's work.
--> '''Henry:''' [[LampshadeHanging I think we're having a cultural misunderstanding]]!

Precious Higginson, a mature Christian woman who's recently been widowed following her husband's death in a car accident, accepts her daughter's invitation to come and live with her and her family in America. Once she arrives, however, Precious finds herself facing severe culture shock, as the activities and mindsets that Americans take for granted are sharply at odds with her own Jamaican personality and Christian beliefs.

In an effort to stave off boredom and give herself something to do, Precious takes up a job offer to work at a rich woman's house as a maid. However, hilarity ensues when she discovers that her specific job will entail caring for the woman's dog, who gets treated like a human being and happens to be rather pervish toward her...