Playing Football For Fun In Grisham's Playing For Pizza
Written: Oct 27 '07 (Updated Oct 27 '07)
Product Rating:
Pros: Fun, thoughtful look at the other kind of football, fun football.
Cons: Some usage of Italian.
The Bottom Line: What happens to a useless quarterback in the NFL? They go to Parma, Italy and play for fun! Playing For Pizza- the fun read of the year.
keithpruitt's Full Review: John Grisham - Playing for Pizza
Rick Dockery had been a great quarterback in high school and college. But being a third string quarterback, the NFL was unkind to the young man. When he helped Denver win the last game of the season that prevented Cleveland from going to the promised-land, Dockery became the most hated man in the lake-side city. You see, he played for Cleveland. Cut the next day, Dockery hounds Arnie, his less-than-helpful agent, to find him another team. And the other teams, Arnie informs him, have been calling telling Arnie not to call them!
But Arnie does find Rick another team; starting quarterback for the Panthers of Parma, Italy. Rick is off to the Italian version of the NFL where he quickly finds that there are only three Americans on the team of tough Italians who play for the beer and pizza they receive. Parma has never won the Super Bowl, but they know with their “star” NFL Americano, they will win this year. But the road will be tough, and Rick, with the help of the team, will have to play the best ball they are capable of to beat the defending champions.
John Grisham, known for his law thrillers, writes this delightful off genre story about life in Parma, Italy. What happens when a twenty-eight year old has-been jock is dropped in a land of food, opera, sex, and wine and is asked to win a football championship? Hum? Could it be that there is more to Rick Dockery than just playbooks and passes? Playing For Pizza tells the story of how a broken quarterback finds his life in a foreign country where people play the game for pleasure and pride and finds success in life and love. The 262 page book takes the reader on a delightful journey of passion and determination as Rick looks for the essence of life.
While I have not been the biggest fan of Grisham’s off genre efforts such as Bleachers (although I did like A Painted House), the best-selling author has struck pay dirt with Playing For Pizza. While I suspect that men will like this book more than women, it is a quick, fun read. Dealing with some very subtle topics, such as what happens to third string quarterbacks that the NFL no longer can abuse, the world of high-priced athletes vs. those who play because they love the game, and the intellectual abilities to enjoy life beyond the gridiron, all wrapped in a delightful package of local characters such as Nino and Sam, Giancarlo and Sly peppered with cultural and language incursions into Rick’s hapless life brings one of those ahhh moments of reading. Grisham has given readers just a fun book. Some may find it difficult trudging through some of the Italian, but it is all used in such a context as to be meaningful. And the descriptions of the plays and games are fun to read even if one doesn’t understand football. The hard hitting action makes one feel they are a part of the action.
Grisham yields a stunning performance in Playing For Pizza proving once more than the best-selling author is one of the greatest literary talents of our time. The book is highly recommended as a no pressure, fun read that will leave you saying, “that a boy!”
A departure from his acclaimed legal thrillers, Grisham s #1 New York Times bestseller about an American s introduction to Italian football and food i...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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