PLAYING FOR PIZZA by John Grisham
John Grisham's writing style has certainly evolved since his early days of A TIME TO KILL and THE FIRM fame. In recent years he has turned out non-lawyer related stories such as THE PAINTED HOUSE and BLEACHERS. Now he gives us PLAYING FOR PIZZA, a slice of life novel about one man's sojourn to the sunny shores of Italy. It is a simple tale full of football action and little more.
Rick Dockery is the focal point of PLAYING FOR PIZZA. He is an NFL quarterback whose career has gone down the tubes. His last fiasco occurred while playing for the Cleveland Browns. He made several key blunders that cost the team a chance at the Super Bowl and left him hospitalized with a concussion.
Seeing his career possibly ending too early, Rick takes his agent Arnie's recommendation and signs with the Parma Panthers, as in Parma, Italy. Playing football in Italy is a whole new way of life. There are only three Americans allowed per team and the rest of the players are Italians who play for the fun of it. They don't get paid and virtually play for pizza. As an American Rick does get a meager salary, plus the pizza.
The story focuses on the thrill of the game and Rick's growth into a team player. He starts out a cocky, spoiled American but ends up as a man who plays primarily for the love of the sport. Along the way he learns about opera and architecture, sometimes reluctantly. He also has a few romantic liaisons.
The book is easy reading and has a certain charm to it. Grisham doesn't go overboard in creating his plot or his characters. This is Grisham-lite from beginning to end. Still it is John Grisham writing here so there is a degree of talent involved.
If you want something to read that won't tax your mind then this is the perfect book for you. It is fun and fast so you won't have wasted too much time on this easy reading pleasure. If you are searching for the "old" John Grisham you won't find him in these pages. Maybe his next book, THE APPEAL which is due in January, will see a return to his old style of content and writing.
PLAYING FOR PIZZA is published by Doubleday. It contains 262 pages and sells for $21.95.