Playing for Pizza by John Grisham Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $2.36 You Save: $5.63 (70%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Playing for Pizza
Book Review: A fun read
Summary: 4 Stars
I think this book mainly hit home because it brought me back to the days of living in Italy. It gives you a nice little story of a Quarterback who learns the true value of the game while he goes out and finds himself in the midst of a place he knew nothing of prior. A good read.Book Review: A nice quick read
Summary: 5 Stars
This may not be John Grisham's greatest novel, but for what it is, it is a very entertaining read. I'm not a huge football fan so I had reservations about reading this book. This book is not solely about football. It is about a young man who was ostracized in Cleveland for foiling their hopes of entering the Super Bowl. Instead, he is practically forced to play for an Italian football team in Parma. While this is going on he is learning the culture of Italy, making new friends, and finding new love. This book is about how sometimes when you settle for less you gain more and learn more than what you would expect. Yes, the characters may not be overly developed, but it was fascinating how Grisham mixed in football with the culture of Italy. So you do actually learn something as you read this novel. The storyline also moves at a quick pace as well.Book Review: A nice quick read with some interesting texture
Summary: 5 Stars
In Playing for Pizza, Grisham returns to the genre of literature he explored in his earlier book, Bleachers. Like that book, football provides the backdrop. In this delightful little book, Rick Dockery, a struggling NFL quarterback near the end of his short and abortive career finds himeslf heading off to Italy to play American Football after a disastrous performance in a big playoff game for the Cleveland Browns (he was the third string quarterback, and came in after a couple injuries and threw away a big lead with three interceptions).
Dockery, even though he is pretty low on the NFL totem pole, and now even lower by blowing the big game, is still a pretty big shot in the sports world, being an NFL quarterback. He's used to finding places to play, people that want him on their team, all while waiting for his big break into the big time. His career is the big goal. But that vision slowly erodes away on him as he finds himself with no offers to play. His agent finally finds him this spot in the very obscure league in Italy and convinces Dockery to take it. Needless to say, it's a big change, playing in a converted rugby stadium, often in front of less than one thousand fans. But the Italians are excited to have him. The Parma team hasn't ever won the "Super Bowl" of Italy, and sorely wants to. Each team is allowed three American players, but during the course of the short season, the other two Americans for the Parma team leave, and Rick is left to make the best of the season. His performances have been pretty good, but he will need to step it up, as will the whole team, to win the Super Bowl.
Rick meets an American girl, Lilly, who is in Italy studying art and avoiding her familiy, and the two of them take up together. Rick is forced to explore the country with her, and also forced to open up to another human being.
Turning down an offer to return to Canada to play pro ball, Rick buckles down and diligently works with Sam to come up with a plan for a winning season. And his performances continue to improve. He goes from treating the Parma Panthers as the small time to putting all his energy behind his team, and it makes a big difference for the team, and for him. A trimphant Super Bowl win caps his transformation on and off the field, and we are with Rick planning to stay on in Italy for another year, content with where he is at.
Thought this book is a departure from Grisham's usual thrillers, it has the stamp of his quality pacing and interesting characters. His colorful pictures of Italy provide a great backdrop for this nice little tale of a troubled kid who explores the world outside his glitzy and self-centered NFL life. It's a great read and makes me want to spend a month in the Italian countryside. Someday.
Book Review: Alternate reading
Summary: 3 Stars
It was interesting to read so many different takes on this book. Perhaps some of you would be willing to look at some of my realistic futuristic thriller novels such as Pluto 2550 or Adam 2552. Maybe you would love a modern political, men's adventure, romance, thriller unlike no other, which is my top selling novel, The Immortal. If you dare to see a close look at the paranormal or supernatural thrillers, you might enjoy Cast out of Paradise or Kevin and the Dead. An adventure in excitement waits for you. Incidentally, I am the author, Daniel Whittman. All of these novels and more are on amazon.com. If you do not have a kindle, they are available at www.danielwhittman.bravejournal.com or www.danwhittman.com.Book Review: An Entertaining Tale
Summary: 4 Stars
This is not the typical John Grisham novel. It is a light hearted story of a washed up NFL quarterback (Rick Dockery) who goes to Italy to play American football in a country where soccer is king. Along the way he meets a lot of nice people, eats incredible food and sees stunning historical sites.
The story is entertaining and I highly recommend it, especially if you intend to visit northern Italy any time soon. Better yet, save the book for the plane ride.