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Average Customer Rating:

Panthers show their claws . . .

Customer Rating:

Playing for Pizza is not the usual Grisham Courtroom/Corporate drama. Actually, there is a judge in it, a 220lb psychotic linebacker called Franco and the leading man does get arrested, but not for long... Rick Dockery is a journeyman (American)footballer, a perennial third string quarterback. Called into action for the Cleveland Browns in the final minutes of their Superbowl decider against the Denver Broncos, his poor passes contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Mercifully knocked out in the same game, his mediocre NFL reputation destroyed forever, he wakes in hospital to find security on the door (for his protection) and nowhere to go. Thus he shortly found himself in Parma (home of the cheese and the ham as we are often reminded !), FIRST choice quarterback for the Panthers in the Italian NFL and the rest is history.... I enjoyed this book, it is quite clichéd as most sporting stories almost inevitably are, but it is very well written and researched. I knew very little about American football and am not that keen on it to be honest but I learnt a lot (which may help me in the odd pub quiz in years to come!) and got quite into it by the finale Grisham fans should take note, this is NOT a legal drama, but an indulgent sporting book that he has every right to publish if he so wishes. The negative reviewers here should have realised what they were buying before criticising him for writing this. He obviously has a passion for football, Italy and it's food (I wonder how much he weighs these days?) which comes across beautifully and in buckets. Details of the long and lively meals will have your mouth watering in the same way as those Deep South fried lunches in The Last Juror. There is a lot of football in this book so it is less likely to appeal to female readers and non-sports fan but the off field story is readable too, if a little secondary. A diversion from the usual JG offerings that I was happy to read :o)

Better than Pizza

Customer Rating:

I read some of the reviews and wondered if they read the same book I did. I really enjoyed this book. It helps to understand American Football (as opposed to the real thing), but better still is to have a love of Italy. This book displays a love of, and knowledge of Italy and Italian culture. At times I was lost in the Pizza Parlour, listening to excitable Italian voices, and thrilling to the warmth of Italian friends in my own memory. My advice - go to Italy, fall in Love with all things Italian (which you will if you are breathing, upright and warm), and then read this book. Pizza and the NFL do mix - just look at the size of those Line Backers...

Don't Waste Your Money	Customer Rating:
This is a very poor book and a big disappointment for any Grisham fan. It smacks of Grisham having to churn out something to meet a contract rather than the normal standard of his work. Try buying "The Innocent Man" by this author instead.

Playing for Pizza	Customer Rating:
Very very disappointing. Not Grisham at all, has he died and his dog wrote this one?? Would have dumped it but it was all I had to read on a long journey so read to the fizzled-out end. I usually pass on paperbacks but binned this one to avoid boring anyone else. Pity zero stars is not an option

Very disappointing

Customer Rating:

Picked this up in the airport thinking it would be standard Grisham fare and perfect as a holiday read - nothing too intellectual but a well-strcutured story with a few plot twists and turns to keep you entertained till the end. It disappointed on every front, and I started to wonder what the point of it all was. It wasn't a thriller in the usual Grisham style - the plot was predictable from the start and sort of petered out towards the end. It wasn't a sports book - the sporting scenes were pretty diffident and I never felt engaged in the sporting success of either the team or the main character (and I'm normally a sucker for cheesy sports books). It wasn't even well-researched - there were a number of factual inaccuracies about Italy and the sport that even a layman like me picked up. Grisham even admits in his author's notes to making some of the detail up. The only thing I can think of is that the book was inspired by a trip to Italy annd was intended as some kind of homage or guide to the country and it's culture. If so, it failed miserably. Grisham portrays a 2-dimensional stereotype of Italy where all the locals are very passionate and emotional and love their food and drive around in small cars, and where the country is full of old churches, museums and galleries. Very insightful! If you love American football and know absolutely nothing about Italy then you might get something out of this. If you are in any way expecting to be inspired, informed or gripped, then don't bother.