Amalia is a woman in her forties. She is the secretary of the CEO of Suministros Vallejo, a family business that is going through difficult times. Organised and efficient, she nevertheless lacks sympathy, a quality needed to keep inopportune visitors at bay. She is implacable. Amalia leads her life in her own way, with defined boundaries, narrow but comfortable. And predictable. She seems to be happy with this, thinking that she does not need anything else. Until one day she meets Lazaro, a maintenance technician who comes to her office to fix something. His character is the absolute opposite of hers; his spontaneity and tendency towards chaos awaken unexpected feelings in her. So much so that from then on she begins to invent things that need fixed, or even damaging them herself, with the sole purpose of having him around. Knowing that he loves to dance, she also starts to attend dance classes…

In Dance Classes for Office Workers (“Clases de baile para oficinistas”) Burgos proves again his wide range of skills and his gift for empathizing with his characters in an authentic and original way, making his readers laugh out loud and start thinking deeply about what it means to live.

Sofía and the Blockhead (“Sofía y el terco”) is the story of one last big dream. For years now, Sofía has been asking her stubborn husband to take her out of their mountain village on a trip to the sea, so many years that the two of them have grown old. And so Sofía, her best friend Mercedes and the silent David come up with a plan… A delightful novel about desires and happiness achieved late in life.

In a refreshing style, Fight Manual (“Manual de pelea”) tells the captivating story of a boy growing up in 1990s Medellín. Fourteen-year-old Santiago’s main interests are girls, his standing in the school pecking order and soccer. But while the fights in the schoolyard are still fought with fists, the brutal laws of the narcotics mafia have long since taken over in the rest of society. In an almost innocent, humorous tone, Burgos describes the end of a childhood.

Written in easily accessible language, La Rosa de la China (“The Rose of China”) is a captivating historical novel featuring vivid characters in an enthralling adventure story set in 17^th century Mexico. The beautiful Chinese woman Catarina San Juan is gifted with visions and special healing powers. When she meets the outlaw Rolando, a Chinese Samurai, they fall in love. Then Rolando’s sworn enemy tries to kidnap Catarina – will they escape his henchmen? Years later, Father Solís comes to La Puebla to impede Catarina’s canonisation. But in a hidden shrine, he finds Catarina’s diary, and the deeper he gets involved in her story, the more fascinated he becomes with the saint…

La cárcel, which was re-issued in the Colección Premio Planeta and appeared in an English version by Gregory Rabassa in the USA in 2003, has turned out to be a true rediscovery. Even after 30 years, it is still a small literary masterpiece. The book combines a simple, humorous and peculiar story with philosophical reflections upon the absurd human existence in a world, where liberty seems possible only in confinement.

The narrator Antón Castán has been in prison for three years now, although innocent and without a single hearing. His only hope is that one day the artificial rose, which he has planted into a pot with natural soil, may come into bloom. He spends his time reading from his diary to his fellow inmates, lively commentating the entries. When colonel Leyola takes over the prison administration, things worsen and a revolt breaks out. Taking his chance in the tumultuous atmosphere, Antón secretly beats the colonel to death with a club. Though not officially accused, his inmates put him on trial, taking the roles of the judge, the prosecutor and the defender. Was it revenge for Leyola killing his girl-friend? Or could he no longer bear his innocence and therefore wanted to make his imprisonment worthwhile? The jailbirds prosecute Antón, however, he is soon released from jail. But is it freedom? His new-found liberty seems relative to him, and as he leaves his cell, he feels like he is leaving his dead self behind.