Playing for Pizza by John Grisham Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Playing for Pizza
Book Review: If this book doesn't make you laugh out loud . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
. . . you have no sense of humor. Not since "Semi-Tough" or "North Dallas Forty" has there been a book about football and its trappings this funny. Rick Dockery is a character that grows on you with every chapter, just as he seemingly deepens in his own maturity and world sense, and the supporting cast of characters is absolutely marvelous and empathy-provoking. Author Grisham must have spent the entire time writing this book with a big, crooked grin on his face, and it shows in every chapter. The detailed descriptions of the Italian countryside, the metaphors used to describe the environment, are outstanding, as are the vivid imagery of the game descriptions. If you like football, you'll love this book. If you like redemption stories of any kind, read this one. The worst part about it is it won't take you too long, and you'll want to be reading the sequel.Book Review: If you like football and new cultures you will LOVE this book
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently got around to reading this book that was giving to me a few years back. At first I was very skeptical. I wondered how I would like a book by Grisham since I don't usually go for "Legal Thrillers". I have to say that I was mesmerized! The story telling in this is so engrossing and the characters I loved seeing them develop. Grisham goes into detail with the culture and the way it can be for a young man to accept a new culture. Add that to the way that he captured the game and the way that it feels to stand on a field and change everything about yourself. My only complaint is that it wasn't longer. This book easily could have been twice as long and I would have loved it even more! Must read if you like sports and Italy!Book Review: Information About Italian Football Interesting, But Otherwise Not Compelling At All
Summary: 2 Stars
Upon finishing John Grisham's "Playing For Pizza", I was left with the feeling that I had just read roughly 300 pages and gotten absolutely nothing (or very little) out of the experience.
In short, Grisham's "Pizza" tells the story of third-string NFL QB Rick Dockery, who is literally banished from the NFL due to orchestrating the greatest on-field collapse in Cleveland Browns history. Thus, Rick heads to NFL Italy for a season, where he learns about their style of football and starts to put back together the pieces of his life.
I will admit that it was interesting to read about a football league I never knew existed, where the Italians play just for fun (no money) in their free time, yet also have a playoffs and Super Bowl. In some ways, it was refreshing to see a league not yet touched by the greediness of star players and cocky agents (although Grisham hints throughout the book that those things aren't too far away).
Besides that interesting info, though, the rest of the book is not at all compelling and didn't hook me in to the story. I think the biggest problem is that the protagonist, Dockery, is never really developed as a character that readers can throw their support behind. Though he is able to resurrect his career (by winning some big games in Italy) and his life (finding some female companionship) in Italy, neither of those plotlines are overly compelling/exciting. Plus, the climatic moments of the novel (such as Rick's team playing their hated rival) are often taken care of in a couple of pages, leaving Grisham more (wasted?) time to delve into Italian culture (food and opera are just as big of themes in the book as football).
If you have strong Italian roots or would like to learn more about that country, then you may find this book interesting. However, if (like me) you were just intrigued by the subject matter--football--and were considering picking this book off the shelf, you may want to reconsider.
Book Review: Is There Another John Grisham?
Summary: 1 Stars
I love John Grisham novels. If you're young and 'Playing For Pizza' is your first introduction to him, please give the author another chance.
It read as if a Travel Journal was mixed up with an abandoned short story and a football playbook. I literally thought I was reading John Grisham's diary of what he ate and what he did while in Italy.
Throughout the reading I kept hoping that the descriptions of ham and cheese would wane and the conflict between the life he left behind in the U.S. and the life he developed in Italy would escalate. It didn't.
However, if you like travel books and descriptions of food, this is a great book. If you're looking for dining suggestions, it totally works. As for me, I think I'll stick to his "The" books in the future.
Book Review: Italian dishes and other trivia
Summary: 3 Stars
Playing for Pizza reminded me of a glamorous coffee table magazine: the content is not very interesting, but it looks good. Nice Italian dishes are described with Opera and old churches. Rick, who went to Italy to play American football, probably also looks good (no pictures included), but is quite a poor quarterback.
The book reads very easily, but in the end you have not learned anything, not even how to prepare great Italian food for when you have guests.