Playing for Pizza | 
 enlarge | Author: John Grisham
Publisher: Dell
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  320 reviews
Sales Rank: 692
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.4
ISBN: 0440244714
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780440244714
ASIN: 0440244714
Publication Date: July 22, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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.
Product Description
Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into the game. With a 17-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provided what was arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he became a national laughingstock—and was immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams. But all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent find a team that needs him. Against enormous odds, Rick finally gets 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. . . .
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| Customer Reviews: Read 315 more reviews...
 Not quite authentic pizza November 19, 2008
Years ago, after reading two or three Grisham products, I promised myself that I would never ago waste my time by reading another. Then I saw this bit and read a review and fell for it. Well it is exceptionally light, utterly predictable, and implausable. It is hard to believe that he watched even one football game or spent a minute in Italy before writing this piece. Well, it's back to plan A. Grisham to the Z list.
 Fluffy Entertainment November 18, 2008
This was an entertaining read. I enjoyed the characters, the descriptions of food and the football scenes. Yes, the story does not present a lot of depth and the characters are not pondering the deeper meaning of life. Instead they show that life's pleasures sometimes lie within the more ordinary and simple things.
[...]
Great Book to Read While on Vacation November 17, 2008
My husband and I recently listened to the unabridged audio version of this book while driving cross country. We thought the book was maybe more of a travel log than anything else, since we learned a lot about Italian food and tourist attractions. But of course we also learned a lot about Italian football. Who knew????
I'm adding this to my list of books to buy for friends and family.
Not good for kids November 14, 2008
One of my favorite things about John is that his books are clean. This one has lots of inuendos and lots of non-detailed sex in it. So, although the story line is kind of cute, i ended up having to rip out pages of it and blot out lots of lines so that my son could read it. For our family, clean is best!
Change of Pace November 12, 2008
PLAYING FOR PIZZA was a nice discovery and a welcome change from Grisham's usual tales of lawyers who save the world, again....and, well, again...and, of course, one more time.
In this book he offers up a clever and highly enteraining story of a washed up Quarterback who goes to Italy (quickly and with good reason) to play for a team in the Italian Football League.
It has a wonderful cast of characters, some great insight to traveling or living in Italy, and is really a good little escape. I read it on several plane trips and momentarily forgot about being stuck in coach.
Buy the book because it is entertaining and an enjoyable read. Better still, it won't have you saying to yourself, 'Huh? Lemme guess...the hero's an attorney?' from page one.
I suspect that maybe he even really enjoyed writing this one and, you know what? It shows.
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