Paris Nights:
My Year at the Moulin Rouge
(memoir)
Release date: July 15, 2016
at Waldorf Publishing
ISBN: 978-194384892-8
197 pages
Website
Goodreads
Because of some special circumstances, our reviewer Andrea didn’t get her copy on time to review it during the official book tour. Besides, she does not have a book blog, and posted her review on Goodreads, Amazon, and other retailers.
So we decided to highlight her review here today:
“There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one’s self.” Benjamin Franklin, U.S. Ambassador to France (1776-1785)
Cliff left everything as he hitched his wagon to a chance at stardom at Moulin Rouge in Paris. Although his friend acted as if it was a done deal, Cliff had to audition and prove he was worthy, just as he had to as a child. His frustration, and sometimes his anger fueled his determination, and he made it happen.
For one year he got to be in Paris, in an outwardly glamorous job where he worked his keister off and partied hearty. However, the world was changing, and Cliff got more than one wake up call that planning for the future might help living in the present. He hold back very little behind the wonder that is presented onstage, and credits where he is today for ridinf the “red windmill” of his year as a dancer/ principle performer in Paris.
This is the story of Cliff Simon, only son of a Jewish family growing up in South Africa at the time of apartheid. It is a story of white/ black separation. In that regard it is a kind of “teaching moment” seen by someone who has lived it, which is the joy of first person sourcing. And I have to admit although I’d seen him act, I really didn’t know who Cliff Simon is. I feel that I have been privileged to see into his life, and it was brave of him to open that door to his readers.
If you enjoyed her review, go and Like it on Goodreads and Amazon
SYNOPSIS
A memoir by the critically acclaimed actor Cliff Simon.
Paris Nights, the memoir of a South African soldier turned performer in the world’s most famous cabaret, delivers in a hugely entertaining way.
Little did Cliff Simon know that a single phone call and a one-way ticket to Paris would ultimately change his life forever.
Now the acclaimed television and film actor shares his journey from Johannesburg to the Moulin Rouge to Hollywood in his debut memoir, Paris Nights: My Year at the Moulin Rouge.
From a young age Cliff Simon knew he was headed towards big places. Having grown up as both a skilled gymnast and a competitive swimmer, performance was in his blood. But with the onset of Apartheid and the looming threat of war, he and his Jewish family soon retreated from Johannesburg, South Africa to the London countryside. Before he knew it, he joined the British swim team and was near Olympics-bound with a full-ride offer to a United States university.
But something wasn’t quite right. Instead, Cliff returned home and enlisted in the South African Air Force. Cliff’s habit of impulsive risk-taking would continue but ultimately pave the foundation for an experience most of us would only dream of. After he was honorably discharged, twenty-seven-year-old Cliff worked a series of odd jobs at a resort near the Indian Ocean until he received a phone call from an old friend inviting him to join him at the iconic Moulin Rouge.
Here begins the story of Cliff’s meteoric rise at the Moulin from swing dancer to principal in the glamour filled show, Formidable; his offstage encounters with street thugs and diamond smugglers; and the long nights filled with after parties and his pick of gorgeous women. Encounter the magic, the mayhem, and the glory that was and still is the Moulin Rouge.
PRAISE FOR ‘PARIS NIGHTS’
“He writes of Paris as no one has done before, the after-dark city of night clubs, dance groupies, street fights, and shady characters. His is a truly singular story, and it’s told with humor, swagger, and absolute honesty.” –Marcia DeSanctis, author of 100 Places in France Ever Woman Should Go
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Cliff Simon
is a well-known television actor,
born in Johannesburg, South Africa.
He appeared for 7 seasons on the sci-fi thriller,
Stargate as the evil Ba’al.
Some of his recent appearances
have been on CSI, 24,
the Americans, and in the film, Project Eden.
Loren Stephens
has been twice nominated for
the Pushcart Prize for the Best American Short Story,
and her essays and short stories
have appeared in the Los Angeles Times,
the Chicago Tribune, Peregrine,
the Montreal Review, to name a few.
Her novel “All Sorrows Can Be Borne,” set in Japan will be published in 2017.
Visit Cliff’s website and his fan page
Follow Cliff Simon: Facebook, Twitter
Visit Loren’s website: Write Wisdom
Follow Loren Stephens: Facebook
Follow Waldorf Publishing on Twitter | on Facebook
Buy the book: Amazon | Indiebound | Barnes & Noble | Target
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AND AN EXCERPT
December 1, 2016
WordsAndPeace
5 Comments
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