Continuing to stay away from the legal thrillers that made him famous, John Grisham turns his attention to Italy and football in his new novel Playing for Pizza. The novel tells the story of Rick Dockery, a third-string quarterback that has worn-out his welcome in the NFL. (In fact he becomes the biggest goat in NFL history by throwing three interceptions in the last 10 minutes of the AFC Championship Game.) The only job his agent can find for him is a starting quarterback position for the Parma Panthers, a team in the Italian Football League. The league allows each team to have three Americans on the roster. The remainder of the roster is filled with unpaid Italian players.
Rick is hesitant to go, but needing a change of scenery (he receives death threats from irate fans and may have gotten a gold-digging cheerleader pregnant), decides to take the job. He slowly grows to enjoy his time in Italy and the camaraderie of his Italian teammates who play simply for the love of the game. The football schedule takes Rick throughout Italy and allows Grisham to go into detail about the sights, culture, and foods of Italy.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. It’s a quick, interesting read. I learned a lot about the different cities of Italy. Grisham does a good job of describing both the football action and the struggles Rick goes through to adapt to an entirely different culture and language.
I give Playing for Pizza a 7 on a scale of 10.
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#1 by football picks, football handicapping, football handicappers on October 13th, 2007
i feel that this league will be a real entertainment with all excitement .
#2 by Julie Q on October 14th, 2007
I saw him on the today show a couple weeks ago- he’s writing a political thriller next.. I definitely want to pick up Playing for Pizza, thanks for the review!
#3 by abarclay12 on October 14th, 2007
The book sounds kind of cool. There’s no legal drama involved??
#4 by Daddy Dan on October 14th, 2007
It’s cooler than I described it. No legal drama at all, unless you count the threatened paternity suit, which was just a minor subplot.
#5 by Valley Girl on October 15th, 2007
Do I smell a movie adaptation?
#6 by Daddy Dan on October 15th, 2007
I think it’d make a good movie. He probably wrote it specifically for that purpose, I’m guessing.
#7 by royalfarris on October 15th, 2007
Good read….Fun book on a rainy day off…