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A review by folieassdeux
Unseen: My Journey by Reggie Yates
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
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