Playing for Pizza (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: new quarterback, John Grisham, Super Bowl, Rick Dockery (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Playing for Pizza: A Q&A with John Grisham

Q: American football in Italy seems like an unlikely subject for a John Grisham novel. What was the inspiration for Playing for Pizza?

A: Three years ago when I was in Bologna researching "The Broker", I discovered American football. One of my guides in the area played football for the Bologna Warriors for 10 years. I couldn't believe that American football actually existed there, but the more I heard about it the more intrigued I became.

Q: There is some great football writing in this novel. What kind of research was involved in capturing how this American institution is played in small town Italy?

A: The only way to research the book was to go to Parma and watch a game. The coach is an American who played at Illinois State, and he proved to be extremely valuable. I met many of the Italian players and the story simply unfolded.

Q: Speaking of research, you write lovingly of Italian food and wine in this book. What's your idea of the perfect Italian meal?

A: First course: prosicutto and melon; second course: stuffed tortellini; third course: roasted stuffed capon, all served with a great Barolo wine.

Q: Without giving away too much of the plot, your protagonist falls in love by the novel's end. Did you know when you started writing that Rick would get the girl?

A: Of course.

Q: You have a new legal thriller coming in January 2008. Can you give us any hints about what to expect?

A: I really don't like to talk about a book until it's finished. Sorry. But it will not be another work of non-fiction, nor will it be about football. Lots of lawyers in the next one.

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--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Third-string Cleveland Browns quarterback Rick Dockery becomes the greatest goat ever by throwing three interceptions in the closing minutes of the AFC championship game. Fleeing vengeful fans, he finds refuge in the grungiest corner of professional football, the Italian National Football League as quarterback of the inept but full-of-heart Parma Panthers. What ensues is a winsome football fable, replete with team bonding and character-building as the underdog Panthers challenge the powerhouse Bergamo Lions for a shot at the Italian Superbowl. The book is also the author's love letter to Italy. Rick is first baffled and then enchanted by all things Italian-tiny cars! opera! benign corruption!-and through him Grisham (The Firm) instructs his readership in the art of gracious living, featuring sumptuous four-hour, umpteen-course meals. The writing sometimes lapses into travel-guide ("most Italian cities are sort of configured around a central square, called a piazza") and food porn ("[the veal cutlets are beaten with a small bat, then dipped in eggs, fried in a skillet, and then baked in the oven with a mix of parmigiano cheese and stock until the cheese melts"), but it's invigorated by appealing characters and lively play-by-play. The result is a charming fish-out-of-water story.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Dell (July 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440244714
• ISBN-13: 978-0440244714
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (370 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,219 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Writing novels for Pizza, October 5, 2007

By	Bill Garrison (Oklahoma City, OK USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Playing For Pizza: A Novel (Hardcover)

John Grisham spent a lot of time in Italy writing his legal thriller THE BROKER, and I guess he liked the country so much, he decided to write another novel based in Italy, and the result is PLAYING FOR PIZZA. In PLAYING FOR PIZZA, Rick Dockery is a 3rd string NFL quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC championship game, the Browns are winning 20-0 when the top two quarterbacks are injured. Dockery enters the game and engineers an epic collapse and the Browns lose. Dockery is hated in Cleveland and laughed at everywhere else. His agent finds a team that might actually want him, the Parma Panthers. The Panthers play American football in Italy, where the crowds are sparse, the fields are rough, and the players play for the love of the game and the pizza and beer afterwards.

Rick joins the team in Italy, hoping for a new start in life, trying to avoid a paternity suit, and wanting to hook up with the team cheerleaders. His new teammates embrace him and Rick is given a tutorial in Itialian culture, including the long four hour meals. The description Grisham gives of the meal was enough to convince me that I must go to Italy just for the food. The team's goal is to win the Italian Super Bowl and the face a lot of hurdles during their quest. They lose players to injuries or apathy, and they get sidetracked by women and partying.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel because Grisham is a good writer. But while I enjoyed Rick and his escapades, I didn't really care for Rick because Rick didn't care for anything. Sure, he wanted to put the horrible Cleveland performance behind him, but he is still a shallow, horny, irresponsible person. The romance toward the end of the book seemed without substance.

I've always enjoyed Grisham's work, even if some of his latest novels have been a bit disappointing. For some reason, I think Grisham knows exactly what he's doing. In Playing for Pizza, he created a novel about an American idol (football) in an Italian culture. That was the story. The characters were secondary. The book excels at covering Italy and even gets the football stuff right. Grisham is still a great writer, his plot choices just are sometimes boring. I recommend this book to Grisham fans, but you should probably get it from the library.

114 of 143 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More Vespa than Ferrari, October 4, 2007

By	Eric Wilson "novelist" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Playing For Pizza: A Novel (Hardcover)

Known and loved for his legal thrillers, John Grisham has managed to break free from expectations with whimsical novels such as "Skipping Christmas" and "Bleachers." He delved into literary writing with "A Painted House," and wrote a decent if a bit dry non-fiction work. I've enjoyed each of these departures for different reasons and in varying degrees.

"Playing for Pizza" captured my interest with its continental flair and themes of failure and commitment. Rick Dockery, formerly and ignobly of the NFL, has escaped to Parma, Italy, where he can play for pizza and a pittance, while avoiding the troubles back home. Along the way, he discovers a few things about himself. As I started the book, I thought it might pull together all the pieces and give us a great Italian meal--humor, pathos, wisdom, and history in a fine recipe.

I was wrong. Though this modern tale gives nice insights into Italian architecture and cuisine, it is short on humor, and the wisdom is diluted by Rick's incessant selfishness and bland approach to many things. It's hard to believe an emotional and physical slacker such as this could've ever made it to the NFL in the first place. Even in conclusion, he resolves very few of his own issues back home, and instead continues to escape from them. I kept wanting to like him. I kept wanting to like the book. But even the women he picks for relationships are shallow or weak.

As usual, Grisham's writing moves at a fast clip. The book is--thankfully--not long. It's worth a few hours for those who love anything Grisham writes, and it has its satisfying moments. Overall, though, this is more spaghetti than cannoli, more Vespa than Ferrari.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A charming read -, September 29, 2007

By	ellen "ellen in atlanta" (Atlanta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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This review is from: Playing For Pizza: A Novel (Hardcover)

I have missed John Grisham - Bleachers wasn't my favorite, but the title, Playing for Pizza made me take a closer look. It is the story of a third string quarterback, Rick Dockery, who has pretty much played himself out of American and Canadian football - part is wrong timing, part is he is not much of a scrambler, but he lost a really big game and ended up in the hospital with injuries - There is practically a lynch squad outside the hospital. Rick's agent is running out of options where to place Rick- there is a very intruiging offer - a position for a quarterback - a starting quarterback with the Panthers - no, not Carolina, Parma - Parma Italy! They have football teams there and while most of the members of the team play for the passion and fun of it, they are willing to pay to have an American play with them - The dollar figure offered is not great, but after some difficulties in the states, Rick goes to Italy -
He is welcomed, but soon, in spite of perks of being paid, a car, an apartment gratis, he has to train with the rest of the team - forget about quarterbacks not training with the team - he had to get into shape - and prove himself. He comes to love the Panthers, his team mates, his new country - And the football action is fantastic.
Yes, it is a story of redemption, but it is so much more - and beautifully and lightly written by Grisham -
He states his next book will have 'lots of lawyers' - I wish one of them represented the Panthers and had to visit them in Parma -
This is maybe my 2nd favorite Grisham - the first being A Time to Kill - there is no comparison between the two, but they are wonderful in their own rights.