El año del calipso is part of the erotic book collection, La sonrisa vertical, created by Luis G. Berlanga.  This collection addresses all erotica genre themes.  In El año del calipso, the theme is male homosexuality.  The story revolves around a young man's ambivalence regarding his own sexuality when he experiences a strong sexual attraction for the athletic and muscular gardener who works in the neighborhood.  To cope with these feelings, the young man proceeds to separate his 'self' into two entities; that of the man "Fernando" and the woman "Victoria".  The author uses stream of consciousness techniques to explore the young man's dilemma regarding his sexual preferences.  The psychological development of the Fernando/Victoria entities adds to the storyline.  The narrative in El año del calipso, similar to many erotic novels, takes a secondary role, while considerable space is given to the graphic homoerotic passages.