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 enlarge | Author: John Grisham
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
Buy Used: $0.58
You Save: $21.37 (97%)
New (109) Collectible (18) from $2.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  263 reviews
Sales Rank: 2423
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.8 x 1
ISBN: 0385525001
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780385525008
ASIN: 0385525001
Publication Date: September 24, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers! Your purchase benefits world literacy!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Mystifying July 17, 2008
We obtained this on CD and listened through 4 discs with increasing bewilderment before we tossed in the towel.
There doesn't seem to be anything going on.
For Grisham this is astonishing.
3.5, actually July 11, 2008
Not typical Grisham -- but you may already know that. This is a great beach/airplane read as it is simple and fun. Rather predicatble, but that's ok. Basic story about a man at the end of his career rope and he manages to hang on for little while longer and find a rich cultural nook in a place he had not expected (or wanted) to be. I enjoyed the Italian characters, including the city of Parma. Grisham's writing syle is simplistic and straightforward, which fits the main character's personality. Don't expect any major plot twists or surprises!
So So July 11, 2008
As one who has been a big John Grisham fan, I found myself to be disappointed with this book.
It is a fictionalized account of a third string pro quarterback who finds himself playing in the Italian version of the NFL. It is interesting in spots, but bland overall. It is not remotely on a par with a typical Grisham novel.
Although he has written a couple of other books that were not great (A Painted House, Bleachers), Grisham's books are normally fast paced and keep the reader's attention. Not so with this one. Even as a fan of both the author and pro football, I would not recommend 'Playing For Pizza'. For the hardcore fan who thinks he/she must read everything Grisham, it would be best to get this one in a used bookstore, or better yet, at a library.
 not your typical Grisham July 10, 2008
Though this is not your typical "lawyer" book by Grisham, it is a fun read. You must read it with an open mind. It IS fiction! I enjoyed all aspects of the story, from the football playing, to the little bit of love story mixed in. I thought it was well-written and am happy to have it in my Grisham collection.
 More like 2 1/2 stars.... July 4, 2008
Rick Dockery has spent his career in the NFL as a back up quarterback. Who would have thought he'd end up in a critical game for the Cleveland Browns- and blow it? Now, Rick has become the most hated person in Cleveland and no team will touch him. No team, that is, except the Parma Panthers in Italy. Will Italy thoroughly enchant Rick or will he continue to bemoan the loss of his NFL career?
John Grisham consistently makes the best seller lists, no matter what he writes. Sadly, PLAYING FOR PIZZA didn't meet my expectations. Mr. Grisham's legal thrillers have almost a dry writing style that works well in that genre. However, in a book about football and about having the will to truly compete, more heart and less dry prose would have helped. Instead of focusing on the development of Rick's passion for playing the game, really playing the game rather than just going through the motions, PLAYING FOR PIZZA offers almost a sports page version of the various plays only broken up by admittedly beautiful descriptions of the food and architecture of Italy.
PLAYING FOR PIZZA is populated by a wide variety of characters, none of which stand out as very likeable. Rick's self centeredness gets old quickly. Perhaps he would have been more likeable had the emotional aspect been explored a bit more. As it was, PLAYING FOR PIZZA felt like a brief but overly simplistic story without any real depth to it.
COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES
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