Playing for Pizza

If you've only read Grisham's lawyer-thrillers then this book will come as pleasant surprise. It is a crisp well-written comedy about falling in love with life. At least, life as it is sometime lived in Italy.

Our hero is not a lawyer but a washed out NFL Quarterback who escapes to a season in Italy after a disasterous high profile game. He plays for the Parma Panthers, a team made up mostly of working men who play American Football because it brings them joy and because of the after game Pizza.

This young American opens himself to the possiblilties offered by great food, wonderful wine, small care and even trips to the opera. He discovers that food is more than just fuel, meals are as much about talking as they are about eating and that show more football can be about the playing and not about the money. He also falls in love with a beautiful woman - twice.

I love spending time in Italy - I bought this book while I was on vacation in there - so the descriptions of the food, the people and their passions rang true for me. They are carefully observed and described with infectious affection.

I know nothing of American Football but this book gave me the flavour of a game that has become so much about the money in America but is still about guts and glory in italy.

What appealled to me most about this book was the discovery by the young American that when you follow your passions your life becomes richer and passion starts to follow you.

This is the perfect pool-side read for your next Italian vacation. show less

Maybe I enjoyed this book so much because this year I’m been enthralled with all things Italian, especially my 20 day trip there. It’s very much a fairy tale story of a man who couldn’t find success at the highest level of a game that he loves and found that success at a lower level that comes with other, deeper things is more satisfying. Ciao!

Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game against Denver, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into the game. With a 17-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provided what was arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he became a national laughingstock and, of course, was immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams.
But all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent, Arnie, find a team that needs him. Against enormous odds Arnie finally locates just such a team and informs Rick that, miraculously, he can in fact now be a starting quarterback–for the mighty Panthers of Parma, show more Italy.
Yes, Italians do play American football, to one degree or another, and the Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player–any former NFL player–at their helm. So Rick reluctantly agrees to play for the Panthers–at least until a better offer comes along–and heads off to Italy. He knows nothing about Parma, has never been to Europe, and doesn’t speak or understand a word of Italian. To say that Italy holds a few surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement. show less

It wasn't until I lived in a college town that I really got interested in football, and even then, it was a slow process. Had I come across this book earlier, I might just have found my way to being a fan a bit faster. I also might have really attempted that Italian study abroad...

Following the story of a disgraced NFL player on his journey to play football, this is far from Grisham's usual tale. And yet, it is also a wonderful read.

Grisham strikes a perfect balance of writing about the life of a professional athlete against writing about culture in Italy. For football fans, there are just enough play-by-plays to make relevant sections of the book fast-paced and let you visualize the important parts of those important games. And yet, show more for readers who won't be as interested in that aspect, there's really not enough of it to detract from what is otherwise, very simply, a good story with believable characters. The book moves quickly and gracefully across a number of settings, and it does so with a natural evolution and change which makes it a fast-paced read, and likely a journey away from what you know, regardless of what that is.

All told, the only downfall of the book is that it will make you hungry for a good Italian meal and desperate to go off to Italy to, of all things, see a football game.

Absolutely recommended--this is just one of those fun reads worth reading and passing on. And, if you've got someone who you Want to like football? Give them this. show less

If you’ve only read Grisham’s lawyer-thrillers then this book will come as pleasant surprise. It is a crisp well-written comedy about falling in love with life. At least, life as it is sometime lived in Italy.

Our hero is not a lawyer but a washed out NFL Quarterback who escapes to a season in Italy after a disastrous high-profile game. He plays for the Parma Panthers, a team made up mostly of working men who play American Football because it brings them joy and because of the after game Pizza.

This young American opens himself to the possibilities offered by great food, wonderful wine, small cars and even trips to the opera. He discovers that food is more than just fuel, meals are as much about talking as they are about eating and show more that football can be about the playing and not about the money. He also falls in love with a beautiful woman – twice.

I love spending time in Italy – I bought this book while I was on vacation there – so the descriptions of the food, the people and their passions rang true for me. They are carefully observed and described with infectious affection.

I know nothing of American Football but this book gave me the flavour of a game that has become so much about the money in America but is still about guts and glory in italy.

What appealed to me most about this book was the discovery by the young American that when you follow your passions your life becomes richer and passion starts to follow you.

This is the perfect pool-side read for your next Italian vacation. show less

You might find this hard to believe, but this is the first Grisham novel I've ever read. Having worked in a law firm for 5 years, I've never been one to want to keep revisiting that lifetime so although I would sometimes watch movies, I wasn't interested in the books.

Playing for Pizza was referred to me by a co-worker who thought I'd get a kick out of it and when he explained the premise, I agreed. And I loved it!

Sometimes it's just great to read a book with "just a story" in it. No high-drama, no high-crime... just a good, fun, and relaxing read. For me, PfP was it. I loved reading about how it took being completed ripped from his element and tossed into a whole new culture and experience for the main character (Rick Dockery) to find show more himself, to find his "way"... to give him a sense of belonging. Of course, being Italian myself, the joy and wonder I experienced while "walking" around Parma and experiencing it through Ricky (or Livvy's) eyes was just wonderful.

I thought all the characters were very well fleshed out and "real" and I looked forward to every chapter to find out what they were all up to. The interactions on and off the football field were well interwoven giving the reader a sense of being involved (as opposed to simply being an observer)

I'm not certain how die-hard Grisham fans will feel about this book, but for me it was a very satisfying read. In fact, if I find this book in a used bookstore, I will purchase my own copy because it's the kind of book I could see myself re-reading and relaxing to. show less

Refreshingly different from the lawyerly novels. The world of professional sports and the realistic lives of the players felt genuine.