In Evil Hour
1962 novel by Gabriel García Márquez
In Evil Hour (Spanish: La mala hora) is a novel by Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez, first published (in an edition disowned by the author) in 1962.
Written while García Márquez lived in Paris, the story was originally entitled Este pueblo de mierda (This Town of Shit or This Shitty Town). Rewritten, it won a literary prize in Colombia.
Some of the same characters and situations found in La mala hora later re-appear in Cien años de soledad.
Plot
In Evil Hour takes place in a nameless Colombian village. Someone has been placing satirical pasquinades about the town, outlining the locals' shameful secrets. Some dismiss these as common gossip. However, when a man kills his wife's supposed lover after reading of her infidelity, the mayor decides that action is called for. He declares martial law and sends soldiers (who are actually armed thugs) to patrol the streets. He also uses the 'state of unrest' as an excuse to crack down on his political enemies.
The public source identifies “In Evil Hour” as 1962 novel by Gabriel García Márquez. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Evil, Hour and novel.
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Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1630561. VIAF identifies the subject as 7450160062390035790005. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1962.
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This entry incorporates text from “In Evil Hour” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.