In Evil Hour

"In Evil Hour" is one of the early novels written by Gabriel Garcia Márquez. Published in 1962, it was previous to his "A Hundred Years of Solitude" and "The Autumn of the Patriarch", some of his most famous novels and that consolidated his style. Considering that, one can say that this novel is really good. It is not as fine tuned as his best works, there is no Magical Realism in here -- actually, the book is quite realist -- but it is such an engaging and well conceived story that it is impossible to stop reading. The narrative is set in a small town ruled by a peculiar mayor. He fills the role of both mayor and deputy -- in other words, he is the law in that place. The citizens having been facing a small problem. Every morning someone finds in his, her door a bulleting anonymously written telling a gossip about him, her or the family. The strange thing is that the fact stated in the piece of paper is known by everyone, despite people not talking about it. So what is making the citizens tense is not what will be said but who is saying those things. Solving this mystery is a job to the nameless mayor, but he is not very interested in it. To his knowledge this kind of gossip will stop sooner or later. He has a very interesting role in the book, since he is such a dubious character. As the reading progress, one can notice that he can't be simply described as good or evil. It is much more complex than that. So are townspeople. Márquez make them appealing folks with very interesting background stories to keep the pages moving. "In Evil Hour" deals with politics, but in a very subtle way. Hints are given here and there about the recent changes the town has faced. The past seems to have been obscure, but we are never certain of that. Márques exploit heavy subjects that darken Latin American History with grace and seriousness and his peculiar sense of humor. And in the end we seem to have spent some time in that village, and however much we may have enjoyed it, we may not be willing to come back to that place -- although one may want to reread this book one of these days.

This book started off great. It tells you about this town and, if you've read more about Marquez, you realize that some characters are the same from previous novels, which was great, I found myself smiling. It is a great story and it really makes you think. You have to pay attention to what you read to understand what he tells us next, which was also great. And I love how the town has characteristics of ANY town. It kind of put me off that he leaves off when I feel he should've continued.

In Evil Hour hasn't enjoyed the respect it should, as a contemporary masterpiece, at least on par with Love in the Time of Cholera. Readers who cite a lack of plot have not fully explored this book. The reality of this novel is that all of the messages, most of the plot, and a good part of the action are implied, rather than explicitly stated. If one were available, I would recommend picking up a Cliff's Notes or Sparknotes for this book, due to the confusing structure and dense, recondite prose; none of the editions I have read so far has included an introduction or explanation of the book more thorough than what is written on the dust jacket. Ultimately, If you're looking for some good, light, poolside reading, skip In Evil Hour - this is not that sort of book, and you will be left confused and unsatisfied with the book. However, if you are prepared to read it twice, carefully, in order to understand the subtexts and allusions, this book will enchant you and become a favorite.

"La Mala Hora", It is Latin America, its life, its governments, its people. But only he can paint its image in words without missing a detail. Many have tried to immitate him, and sometimes you can even hear "she writes like García Marquez" its impossible!! La Mala Hora is an old book, but its contents continuous alive thus Latin America has not changed.I have read "La Mala Hora" many times, as well as many other books from Gabo and would like to memorize so many paragraphs that are simply out of this world. Gabo's imagination has no limits. La Mala Hora - his description of how the fathers gets up in the morning, his description of the cow stucket on the river, or when the secretary of the former judge explains to the new judge how the former judge was killed. Every single page of the book is a work of art forever. I love you Gabo! I was born in Germany but am more latin then German, having grown up in Costa Rica and living now in Panama. I wish I could write like you, I wish I could make my children read you as intensely as I have. You are "The Writer". Please forgive my poor English.Frauke Schnell de Muñoz

I don't read much but I enjoyed this book. It taught me something about another place that I didn't know anything thing about. I would recomend to anyone who had lost their faith in something because it might help.