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    Playing for Pizza: A Novel
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    Playing for Pizza: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Playing for Pizza: A Novel
    Audiobook6 hours

    Playing for Pizza: A Novel

    Written by John Grisham

    Narrated by Christopher Evan Welch

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game against Denver, 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, of course, was immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams.

    But all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent, Arnie, find a team that needs him. Against enormous odds Arnie finally locates just such a team and informs Rick that, miraculously, he can in fact now be a starting quarterback-for the mighty Panthers of Parma, Italy.

    Yes, Italians do play American football, to one degree or another, and the Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player-any former NFL player-at their helm. So Rick reluctantly agrees to play for the Panthers-at least until a better offer comes along-and heads off to Italy. He knows nothing about Parma, has never been to Europe, and doesn't speak or understand a word of Italian. To say that Italy holds a few surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 24, 2007
    ISBN9780739359105
    Unavailable
    Playing for Pizza: A Novel

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    Reviews for Playing for Pizza

    3.5/5

    948 ratings77 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 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.
    • 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
      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.
    • 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.
    • 4/5
      Cute little story
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 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.
    • 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.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 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

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Football in Italy. John Grisham expresses a knowledge of the game and the culture. NFL-failure Rick Dockery is a jerk. Rick Dockery is the opposite. Romance, cuisine and architecture. Grisham gives attention to detail. The series of events make it a great story.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I bought this book at a book sale for .49cents just because it was by John Grisham. The fun surprise for me was that it is set in Parma Italy, and I had a 2 week tour of Italy booked and would leave in a few days. This would be my book for the plane ride.It was perfect. The impressions and descriptions of Italy as experienced by the characters were as much of a preparation for me as all the guide books I studied for weeks before I left.It was an Italy story, a football story, a food story and a love story. Love of Italy, love of football, love of food, and of how the main character, the American former NFL Quarterback learned to love himself, his team mates, life, and the beautiful country of Italy.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      It's amazing that so many disliked this story... "it's about football", "Dockery's a jerk", "Grisham should stick with law stories", etc. I think that's too bad, because in amongst all the eating and football lies a story of a young man finding and facing his own weaknesses, and learning to overcome them. I think this is one of Grisham's better stories. It makes me want to visit Italy... heck it makes me want to live in Italy, and become part of the culture, and not just for the food and drink, but for the comaraderie, the wisdom, and the challenges. If a story can make me feel that way, well what more can you ask for?

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Okay. I admit that I only picked up this John Grisham CD in my library because I could not find another CD with a narrator I could easily understand (I am hearing impaired). After reluctantly placing this disc into my CD player, what I found was a most engaging story. Agreed that some of it was not totally realistic, but, in exchange for a well-written literary novel, what I got was a surprisingly entertaining story. It was laugh-out loud funny in some places (driving that manually-controlled Fiat) and as exciting as a play-by-play (the football games themselves). Don't choose this book unless you want light entertainment and have at least an inkling of the rules of football. If you are okay with both, you'll find some fun reading here.After reading this book, I was later delighted to find out that there is actually a Parma Panthers team that plays American football in Parma, Italy!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      The last John Grisham book I read was The Firm. That was when it had just come out.This is a marvelous little way to spend sometime before gameday. Perhaps the premise is a little far fetched. (Can the third QB get into that much trouble at a championship game?) But once our protagonist moves on and gets to Italy, we get a little of that Tom Selleck, Mr. Baseball thing going. It moves quickly and resolves well.Ultimately it is a story of finding a way to marry what we love with reality and not superstar expectations that can never be true.I would recommend it not only to my friends who like football, but also to those who just like a good story.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      You might find this hard to believe, but this is the first Grisham novel I've ever read. Having worked in a law firm for 5 years, I've never been one to want to keep revisiting that lifetime so although I would sometimes watch movies, I wasn't interested in the books.Playing for Pizza was referred to me by a co-worker who thought I'd get a kick out of it and when he explained the premise, I agreed. And I loved it!Sometimes it's just great to read a book with "just a story" in it. No high-drama, no high-crime... just a good, fun, and relaxing read. For me, PfP was it. I loved reading about how it took being completed ripped from his element and tossed into a whole new culture and experience for the main character (Rick Dockery) to find himself, to find his "way"... to give him a sense of belonging. Of course, being Italian myself, the joy and wonder I experienced while "walking" around Parma and experiencing it through Ricky (or Livvy's) eyes was just wonderful.I thought all the characters were very well fleshed out and "real" and I looked forward to every chapter to find out what they were all up to. The interactions on and off the football field were well interwoven giving the reader a sense of being involved (as opposed to simply being an observer)I'm not certain how die-hard Grisham fans will feel about this book, but for me it was a very satisfying read. In fact, if I find this book in a used bookstore, I will purchase my own copy because it's the kind of book I could see myself re-reading and relaxing to.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This was a fun book for me to read. I am not a Grisham reader, typically. Duffy encouraged me to read this book. I figured I probalby would. Then I found it on my desk one morning and wondered how he managed that. Turns out David had bought it at an airport while on business. As Duff said, the book is about American football in Italy. But it is not so loaded with football that I couldn't manage to read it. It is also about relationships and cultures and new beginnings. It certainly didn't hurt that as I began reading this book David and I took a trip, alone, to Florence, Italy. It was our first trip to Italy. The lead character in the book has a romantic weekend in Florence in the book. He also happened to stay at the exact hotel which we had already booked! It was fun to hear him talk even briefly about a city we had just visited. Italy is a very friendly culture. As he points out in the book it is also a place which boasts wonderful food and wines! We will be visiting Italy again I hope!

      1 person found this helpful