Reviews

Unseen: My Journey by Reggie Yates

charliebnl's review

adventurous informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

In this memoir, we get the behind-the-scenes (the unseen) view of what Reggie Yates, a British Ghanaian presenter, journalist, former child actor, and producer, went through to get some of his most iconic documentaries. 

 

I say iconic, not because I have watched any of them, but it is assumed that you have if you are to enjoy this read. A well-told story that was narrated well by Reggie, where I learnt some interesting facts about Russia and a pastor in South Africa. However, I found that I was not really invested in finishing this book because I had never watched any of the documentaries referenced here. If I was the target market, a think incorporating some of the actual audio from the documentary into the audiobook would have elevated my experience. 

 

I do suspect that I was not the target market though, and so I’d say that if you are a film and media student or professional, you may find this book useful. Or if you are a huge fan of Reggie’s who’s watched all his documentaries. 

 

I do feel that overall, this may not have been the right medium for this narrative and that a docu-series may have been more suited to what he was trying to achieve.

folieassdeux's review

3.0

Unseen is a memoir about Reggie Yates' series of documentaries. Each chapter in the book recounts a documentary, relating it to Yates' own life and childhood, and reflecting on how his own personal and professional growth was challenged by the situations he faced during filming.

Ultimately, I think it was a good book, and the subjects of the documentaries were definitely interesting. However, often Yates would slip into a basic retelling of the documentary itself, and watching the actual programme is a far better way to really experience the emotions and situations he's trying to convey. On the other hand, he does offer more analyses of the situations he comes into contact with in the book.

My main criticism throughout the book was that the editor did a pretty poor job. There were countless sentences and paragraphs structured in odd ways, missing commas, and uses of 'then' instead of 'than' in comparisons.

I'd say it's worth reading this if you're a particular fan of Yates, and/or haven't watched all of these documentaries. If you've seen all of them then I think you won't gain much more from the book, apart from (interesting) anecdotes about Yates' life which contextualise the programmes.

The documentaries explored in the book are:

Millionaire Preacher - Extreme South Africa
Far Right and Proud - Extreme Russia
Dying for a Six Pack - Extreme UK
The White Slums - Extreme South Africa
Gay and Under Attack - Extreme Russia
Knife Crime ER - Extreme South Africa
Teen Model Factory - Extreme Russia
Men at War - Extreme UK
Gay and Under Attack - Extreme UK
Race Riots USA
Life and Death in Chicago