Generally the job of paid handyman is low status, a semi-skilled labor job. It's a less prestigious occupation than a specialist such as a plumber, electrician, or carpenter.
Cujo is a 1981 psychological horror novel by Stephen King about a rabid dog. The novel won the British Fantasy Award in 1982, and was made into a film in 1983.
Read the Spanish version. Miguel de Cervantes is one of the most recognized Spanish authors largely due to the success of his novel Don Quijote de la Mancha, published in 1580. Cervantes however led a very difficult life; it seems the writer fit the mold for the starving artist stereotype.