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    Playing for Pizza
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    Playing for Pizza
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    Playing for Pizza
    Ebook311 pages4 hours

    Playing for Pizza

    By John Grisham

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • After providing what is arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL, third-string quarterback Rick Dockery becomes a national laughingstock. Cut by the Cleveland Browns, and shunned by every other team, Rick insists that his agent find a team that does need him.

    Against enormous odds, Rick lands a job—as the starting quarterback for the Mighty Panthers ... of Parma, Italy.

    The Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player—any former NFL player—at their helm. And now they’ve got Rick, who knows nothing about Parma (not even where it is) and doesn’t speak a word of Italian. To say that Italy—the land of fine wines, extremely small cars, and football americano—holds a few surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement.

    Don’t miss John Grisham’s new book, THE EXCHANGE: AFTER THE FIRM!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRandom House Publishing Group
    Release dateMar 16, 2010
    ISBN9780307576118
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for Playing for Pizza

    3.5/5

    983 ratings77 reviews

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    • 5/5
      -- Another book found at recycling center. This reader loves UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN by Frances Mayes & loves PLAYING FOR PIZZA. PFP is a novel in which protagonist is ridiculed in U.S.A. but redeems himself when he plays football for an Italian team. It contains visits to Italian sites & romance. --
    • 3/5
      When we first meet Rick Dockery he is laid up in a hospital bed after a nasty American Football Conference championship game collision. Third string quarterback Dockery's career is more than over. His agent, Arnie, is told over and over no one will touch him with a ten foot pole. Don't even ask. Like many athletes with a less than stellar career, Dockery heads to another country to continue playing the game he loves so much. He arrives in Italy with the stereotypical chip on his shoulder. It's only a matter of time before he'll be back in the States, playing for the NFL...or so he thinks. What follows is Dockery's slow acceptance of Italy, what Europeans consider football, and (gulp) monogamy. Grisham keeps the plot light and uncomplicated for a quick and easy read.As an aside, Grisham's descriptions Italy made me want to plan a visit. I made a list of every region and landmark he mentioned.
    • 4/5
      Refreshingly different from the lawyerly novels. The world of professional sports and the realistic lives of the players felt genuine.
    • 3/5
      Interesting way to personalize sports figures
    • 3/5
      Rick Dockery is a third-string NFL quarterback who's been shuffled between teams for the last several years. Currently with the Cleveland Browns, he finds himself suddenly put in the AFC championship game with a comfortable lead, but somehow manages to blow it and the Browns' season comes to an end. The fans are more than brutal and would love to see Dockery's head on a platter. Furthermore, his football career is now virtually over, as no team wants him. His agent manages to find him a position on an Italian football team, and reluctantly Rick travels overseas to play, despite the fact that football is almost an unknown sport in Italy.It's football season, so I thought I'd give this one a try, since I had a copy on audio. I never know what to think when going into a Grisham novel that's not a legal thriller. However, I did enjoy his baseball book (Calico Joe) more than I'd expected to, so I thought perhaps I'd enjoy this one too. It was a quick, easy read for sure. But overall, very underwhelming. I wouldn't say I disliked it, but there really wasn't anything here that will be especially memorable for me. I think on the whole, Grisham should probably stick with the legal thrillers.
    • 2/5
      Rick Dockery is a third string player for the Cleveland Browns. By fumbling a big play and causing the loss of the game, he is kicked off the team and no other team will have him....in the U.S. His agent finds him a new team, finally, with the Mighty Panthers of Parma, Italy, a country he knows nothing about. I got the book because I love pizza. Unfortunately I don't love football.
    • 3/5
      This book was okay.. I kept reading it hoping it would get better but by the time it was over realized that it didn't not something I'd choose to reread sadly
    • 4/5
      Fun book. A nice light romp.
    • 3/5
      Pretty good book, I started and stopped a couple of times. It's title should be: One man's transition plan from the NFL" because that's what it was. I can see Rick Dockery settling down and spending his live in pizza land....maybe, become a ham n egg lawyer and learn to speak with a drawl? The characters were just like any small town (in the USA or Italy or anywhere, probably). Best part of the book was where he used somebody else's money to get even in Cleveland. Great job for a non lawyer book by Grisham.
    • 4/5
      Delightful little story abt ex NFL player who plays for the Parma football team b/c he messed up big time in the States and so he is hiding out in Italy and ends up enjoying the culture with a young lady.
    • 5/5
      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!
    • 4/5
      Cute little story
    • 3/5
      This was a weird one. I thought that the title was a metaphor but, nope, this is a story about a failed NFL player who goes to Italy to play football. I don't care a thing about football but the story was kind of nice to follow and I kept thinking it would go somewhere but it really didn't.
    • 2/5
      Book on CD read by Christopher Evan WelchRick Dockery doesn’t know anything but football, but he’s obviously not very good at it. In six years, he played with eight teams. Now no one wants him, unless it’s to beat him up for his latest performance, which basically handed the AFC championship to the rival team. But … it seems that Italy is bonkers for American football, and the Parma Panthers are in need of a quarterback. And leaving for Europe will also keep a former cheerleader’s attorneys from filing a paternity suit against Rick. So off he goes.What’s the male equivalent of chick-lit? Jock-lit? Well, whatever term we use, this novel is it. Light on plot (and what’s there is predictable), a little romance, a life lesson learned (sort of), and a lot of football. I’m not a fan of this sport, so much of the book with detailed descriptions of game plays was lost on me. But it was a quick read, fulfilled several challenges, and I enjoyed some of the scenes that explored Italian culture (and food). But Grisham is definitely capable of better writing that this.Evan Welch does a fairly good job of voicing the audio. He has good pacing and I liked the way he voiced the Italians – even when I was listening ad double speed on my MP3.
    • 4/5
      I haven't ever read a bad John Grisham book, and this one was no exception. This book is certainly one of his less serious novels (the worst things that happen are football-related injuries). I particularly like how it took place in Italy.
    • 5/5
      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, 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.
    • 4/5
      Playing for Pizza by John GrishamRick has woken up from his injury on the football field and has no recollection as to why he was even in the game. He had been in many football teams and didn't even register the latest one.Only 28 and he's told to retire....he is about to be served for paternity suit, his investments are failing and he's made bad choices...He runs away to Italy where they play mostly for the love of the game and the pizza after the game as the big prize...Love hearing of everything that happens, being an American on foreign soil. So much detail in the descriptions.
    • 3/5
      A bad NFL quarterback finds a new team to play for in Parma, Italy.
    • 4/5
      This book made me create a new LibraryThing collection called "not recommended but want similar novels." It was a page turner, but not original, something I could get behind and say, "you got to read this book." I'm a big football fan, and that helped me enjoy this book. Surprisingly, and very favorable to this book, my wife liked it even though she hates football. She said football was just a small part. I think she was wrong - the whole thing was about football. I'm off to read my next Grisham.
    • 5/5
      Apparently this is a reread but I didn't remember it. Its a fun tale about a former NFL quarterback who never made it big in the NFL paying American style football in Italy. A fun easy read with few lawyers involved.
    • 3/5
      This novel about a down and out footballer playing for a team in Italy lacks the rich plot typical in Grishham's legal thrillers. Most of the characters were pretty flat and the ending was not satisfying. On the whole, not a book I'd recommend
    • 3/5
      I haven't read John Grisham since the Firm and all that swarm of lawyer book in the early 90s, but I got this book at a Friends of the Library book sale for pennies and I needed something light. It worked. There was nothing special about it but I liked reading about life in Parma, Italy. The main character, an ex-NFL quarterback with no other options, isn't exactly likeable but the people he surrounds himself with are. This was OK.
    • 3/5
      In a departure from his usual legal novels, Grisham tells the story of a washed up football star forced to move to Italy to play the game he loves. While the Italian setting and the wonderfully flawed main character are a refreshing change from the author's usual books, the anecdotal nature of the plot can start to lag. I enjoyed the novel, but without a central problem to drive the plot, this was ultimately a missed opportunity.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 3/5
      I love Grisham and know nothing about football, therefore the rating! However the descriptions of the food were fattening in and of themselves. And Grisham's style of writing is always good. Imagine if I understood football:)
    • 3/5
      unusual book for Grisham. No mystery, just a human interest story. I felt it was weak in many areas, but it was a good quick read.
    • 4/5
      Now, I have been reading John Grisham for years; I started reading this legal thrillers in high school. I always loved the way he wrote, so I was willing to give this one a try!Now, this is clearly different than his typical novels, however that may be its strength, not weakness. There was a playfulness to this novel which is often missing from his legal thrillers - an issue generated from the genre.This novel follows a football player at the end of his career, who finds himself having to take a temporary position playing American football in Italy. In addition to eating amazing food, he finds himself reflecting in Italy. It tends to have that effect though.I have to admit, I don't care about football - American or otherwise. I know hockey, little else. So, all of the football references were way over my head. I loved his descriptions about Italian food however. I was rather hungry by the time I finished the book!The one element I didn't care for though was the romance between the football player and an American student he meets in Italy. I felt that the romance lacked some element of believability. This might be because the novel is written from a male perspective, so some of the emotional depth might not exist at such an early stage in the relationship.I also didn't care for the abrupt ending. This was undoubtedly because I was enjoying the story though, not eager for it to end!Nonetheless, this was a fun little story. Nothing too serious, but something women would enjoy as much as men!
    • 3/5
      Rick Dockery has done very little in his life other than play football – and for most of his life, he has excelled at the sport. But Rick would learn soon enough that, although he is good enough to land a quarterbacking job in the NFL, his role will almost certainly always be that of backup-to-the-backup-quarterback. Rick, though, is satisfied with that; the money is good and the women are plentiful even for a third-string NFL quarterback. Quickly, however, time runs out on third-team players, and for Rick that point comes following his unexpected appearance at quarterback for Cleveland in a critical playoff game. The kindest thing to be said about Rick’s performance in that game is that he single-handedly ended his team’s season.When Rick finally comes back to his senses (from the blows he took to the head during that game), he agrees to be next season’s starting quarterback for the Parma Panthers. That’s Parma, as in Parma, Italy.That is the set-up for John Grisham’s Playing for Pizza, a novel that, while it has its stronger moments, still defies the reader to take it all that seriously. Grisham explores the culture shock Dockery experiences upon his arrival, and he does a good job filling his readers in on American football as it is played in Italy today. He even creates several memorable Italian Panthers who are willing to play the game for free -as do all players in the league except for each team’s allotted three American players – only for the chance to one day boast that they played in the “Super Bowl.” Playing for Pizza is fun when it focuses on the actual games and the seriousness with which the players take them. Despite their games being akin to low Division III level American football, the Italian players live for their wins and despair at their losses. Too, the slow bonding of Dockery with the rest of the team, and vice versa, is a nice feel-good aspect of the story to witness. Grisham even throws in a love interest for Dockery to show that his NFL downfall has matured him. One does, however, get the impression that, were his new love not so physically stunning, the relationship would never have had a chance of happening. For him, it is more a lust affair than a love affair. The problem is that Dockery, for all the emotional “progress” he makes during the season, is still more a shallow narcissist than not. That means that Grisham’s attempts to make him a sympathetic character do not quite hit the mark.This is not at all a bad book but it would have been a much more interesting one if its characters were better developed and it had a more serious tone. As it is written, the novel is little more than an unrealistic comedy populated by caricatures rather than real people – and that may have been exactly what Grisham was going for. I am rating the book as I do not because it is bad, but rather because it was so close to being a much better book - and failed to get there.Rated at: 3.0
    • 3/5
      Although not the most inspiring or interesting novel, it does have its merits and references to time. I found myself thinking about this novel when I saw Family Guy, when Peter went to play for the silly nannies. Playing for Pizza lacks any strength and detail, which was disappointing for me. However, many of my classmates seemed to enjoy it for that simplicity. I wouldn't recommend the novel for a fantastic read, but if you are someone that likes football and would like an easy read than I would pick this up for an evening
    • 4/5
      Rick Dockery, a third-string quarterback gets into the AFC Championship game against Denver because the game is virtually unloseable. He loses it anyway, in spectacular fashion, and is a pariah in the NFL. His agent manages to find him a team that will take him: the Panthers, of Parma, Italy. What follows is culture shock to the nth degree, both by Dockery and his new home team. This is a fine comic novel. So far I've only read Grisham's departures from his usual style, not the courtroom dramas he's known for. I may have to give those a try someday. By the way, this is a hard book to read on an empty stomach. I don't mean there's anything here to promote nausea; I mean the descriptions of the local food are that delectable.