A memoir is supposed to be an accurate description of events that happened in the life of its author. However, it is not unusual to accuse the author of making up events to embellish his or her narrative.
Earlier this year, the memoir of celebrity chef Jock Zonfrillo, “Last Shot,” was heavily criticised because people who featured in the narrated events or traversed the life of the author, disagreed with his version of the narrative.
Thus, a stoush—sometimes evolving into a real conflict situation—between the author of a “memoir” and those who are described in it, is always a real possibility.
Authors who fail to understand the differences between a memoir, autobiography, novel, or an academic text can create problems in their writing, that could in turn, confuse critics and book reviewers.
The book, published in November 2020, is marketed as a “novel.” It deals with the wondrous and demanding world of “mooting,” which involves students taking part in a mock trial presenting legal arguments for a fictional client.
It is a highly regarded academic activity in the United States, Australia, and England, and aims to improve the advocacy skills of mainly, but not exclusively, law students.
Although the average person would have little knowledge of mooting, it is a major and lucrative enterprise, which can lift the reputation of registered law schools and also facilitate the employment prospects of students.
In embracing this form of education, students learn to master a particular area of the law in detail, they learn to present an argument before a panel, work together harmoniously, and have fun—which is ultimately what education should or could be.
Further, mooting serves the interests of a free and democratic society where impartial arbiters are often needed to settle conflicts. Indeed, in a totalitarian society, advocates are dispensable because they are expected to be loyal servants of the ruling regime.
For example, in totalitarian Germany in the 1930s and 40s, Adolf Hitler despised lawyers.
“A Mootiful Life” meanwhile, offers a curious mixture of memoir, autobiography, novel, and academic text.
Staff and former students at the University of Queensland Law School, Murdoch University School of Law, and City University of Hong Kong Law School would immediately recognise the identities of the protagonists of the book.
Considering that the book—marketed as a novel—is a memoir in disguise, the protagonists, who are so easily identifiable, may regard the description of their character offensive and defamatory. Further, the book could also be viewed as an autobiography because the author describes his trajectory as a legal academic in three institutions.
“A Mootiful Life” does make for an interesting read, especially for those who collaborated with the author at these universities; for them, the book has curiosity value.
However, the inability of the author to decide on the book’s genre has fatally affected its structure. Indeed, it would help if a reader knew whether the book was a novel, memoir, or academic text etc. Parts of the book certainly read as an academic text, especially when the author recounts the arguments of students in their mooting competitions.
The value of the book lies in its attempt to demystify the world of mooting. However, because of its unclear genre, it is not likely to have wider appeal.
For them, it is a tedious enumeration of vacuous dialogue, interspersed with pontifical advice on how students should behave in a moot.
The dreary account of actual cases the author and students have participated in is not likely to appeal to those who want to read an entertaining novel as opposed to a memoir or autobiography.
Hence, if authors want to make a literary impact, they should avoid including descriptions of events which skirt the edges of defamation and lack elementary civility. But, even more importantly, they should ideally consider the genre of their book before they start writing.
