Semina - 8: Merced Es Benz

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Merced Es Benz is an account of a dysfunctional love affair, narrated through SMS, email, Facebook, and Google search results. Set in a barely-credible pre-Olympic London, the story unfolds amidst Bow E3’s high-rises and east London’s art parties, where the offspring of the affluent indulge in 90s rave nostalgia. The remnants of a ‘virtual’ conversation serve as circumstantial evidence, revealing a ‘real’ intimacy behind a messy social media scandal that attracted tabloid attention. Iphgenia Baal’s non-fiction novel navigates the complex intersection of death, mourning, and Facebook, suggesting that downward mobility can be a more intoxicating, albeit less fatal, drug than heroin. This work is part of the Semina series, edited by Stewart Home, which has also featured authors like Bridget Penney and Jarett Kobek. After a journalism career that ended in 2008, Baal has focused on writing, with previous works including The Hardy Tree and Gentle Art, as well as serialised pieces like The Seedless Grape. Some of her writings have been adapted for film, including Heavy Vibrations. She has contributed to various publications and co-founded the imprint AKA. This title is published as part of Book Works’ Semina series (No.8), edited by Stewart Home.