 Javier Calvo's style has been described as "post-urban grotesque" by Spanish critic Julio Ortega.Among his literary influences are Jane Austen, E. M. Forster, Aleister Crowley, Pamela Lyndon Travers, B. S. Johnson, Juan Benet, Joan Perucho, J. G. Ballard, Iain Sinclair, Roberto Bolaño and Rodrigo Fresán.Cinematic influences include David Lean, Jean Eustache, Alan Clarke and Mike Leigh.