Here's part of a brief review of a book called Fisheye: A Memoir: "In her debut novel "Fisheye," Trish Thorpe tells of her childhood, rocked by familial discord, and of her coming-of-age, which happened all too soon...
It's not a memoir of a fictional character, it's a memoir of the author...which means it's not a novel.
I've spotted this confusion more often lately, with people referring to "a fiction novel." If it's a novel, it's fiction. If it's a memoir it's non-fiction (we'll leave aside the fact that many memoirs stray from the truth).
