Playing For Pizza: A Novel (Copy 1)
5 journalers for this copy...
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.
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Just a fun, fast read you can finish in an evening. It's never going to be a classic, but if you are just looking for a relaxing "feel good" story, this is it.
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.
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Just a fun, fast read you can finish in an evening. It's never going to be a classic, but if you are just looking for a relaxing "feel good" story, this is it.
Journal Entry 2 by tobysrus at Algiers, 40 Brattle Street, Harvard Sq. in Cambridge, Massachusetts USA on Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Released 16 yrs ago (12/11/2007 UTC) at Algiers, 40 Brattle Street, Harvard Sq. in Cambridge, Massachusetts USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Released at the December 2007 Boston Bookcrossing meeting.
Released at the December 2007 Boston Bookcrossing meeting.
Picked this book up at the December Bookcrossing meetup, and lent it to my boyfriend. Sorry for not journaling it sooner! Will let you know what I think of it when I get it back to read myself.
Boyfriend of stormysweetie here... As a fan of John Grisham as well as football, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As the Publishers Weekly summary in the very first entry above (by tobysrus) suggests, this is not a typical Grisham book. He has written another non-lawyer-related book called "The Bleachers" which is also about football, and it is not as good as this one, IMHO. You will laugh at many points in this book, and, if you are a football fan, you will appreciate the play-by-play. Non-football fan, do not despair, as there plenty more then football to this book. Overall, a very fun read!
I am returning this book to my girlfriend, so she'll read it next. Stay tuned!
I am returning this book to my girlfriend, so she'll read it next. Stay tuned!
Great, non-lawyer book by John Grishim. This one is about football: Italy's version of the NFL. It's a pretty quick, enjoyable read, and I would definitely recommend it. More light-hearted than some of his other novels.
Caught at a special Bookcrossing Meet-up at Boston's Cafe Bella Vita on Charles Street. I've been wanting to read this one.
Journal Entry 7 by stephenorr at Baylor Library (Garden Level By Java City) in Waco, Texas USA on Friday, June 5, 2009
Released 15 yrs ago (6/5/2009 UTC) at Baylor Library (Garden Level By Java City) in Waco, Texas USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
What a fun read! I "caught" this book from one of my Boston Bookcrossing Meet-up friends & truly enjoyed reading it. Proof positive John Grisham can write non-thrillers. Here is a lazily-paced little ramble about a third-string quarterback who is cut from his US team for one of the worst performances in football history. But, he MUST play football, that's all he knows (or wants to know). So, his agent finds him a staring quarterback position ... for the Parma, Italy Panthers! There is a lot of good humor in this book; as Rick, who speaks no Italian, has never been to Europe, doesn't have the slightest idea where Parma is, and only THINKS he knows what they mean by "football americano"! If you enjoyed Grisham's "Skipping Christmas," then you are sure to recognize the humor (and the humanity) of this novel. Recommended, especially if you would like to know what Italians do to our version of football!
Released at the Baylor University Library OBCZ (Moody Library, Garden Level next to Java City).
What a fun read! I "caught" this book from one of my Boston Bookcrossing Meet-up friends & truly enjoyed reading it. Proof positive John Grisham can write non-thrillers. Here is a lazily-paced little ramble about a third-string quarterback who is cut from his US team for one of the worst performances in football history. But, he MUST play football, that's all he knows (or wants to know). So, his agent finds him a staring quarterback position ... for the Parma, Italy Panthers! There is a lot of good humor in this book; as Rick, who speaks no Italian, has never been to Europe, doesn't have the slightest idea where Parma is, and only THINKS he knows what they mean by "football americano"! If you enjoyed Grisham's "Skipping Christmas," then you are sure to recognize the humor (and the humanity) of this novel. Recommended, especially if you would like to know what Italians do to our version of football!
Released at the Baylor University Library OBCZ (Moody Library, Garden Level next to Java City).
Playing for Pizza was a delightful little book.
I now have a burning desire to vacation in Parma.
Someone left this book for me at my office last year, but my recipitionist didn’t get his name. I put it on the bottom of my stack and got around to reading it this month. The compelling characters and descriptions of Italy made it difficult to put down.
Whoever left it, thank you.
I will mail it to my mother-in-law today so she can read it and release it in another city.
This was my first contact with BookCrossing.
Vic
I now have a burning desire to vacation in Parma.
Someone left this book for me at my office last year, but my recipitionist didn’t get his name. I put it on the bottom of my stack and got around to reading it this month. The compelling characters and descriptions of Italy made it difficult to put down.
Whoever left it, thank you.
I will mail it to my mother-in-law today so she can read it and release it in another city.
This was my first contact with BookCrossing.
Vic
