I chose this book thinking that it would be a quick, easy, somewhat brainless and entertaining book. I guess I was partially right. It would have been quicker if it had grabbed my attention, but it never really did, so I found myself finishing it only because I had to write this review. I was surprised, because I love John Grisham, he is usually very entertaining, and I have enjoyed not only his law/court room novels, but I loved Bleachers, The Painted House and Skipping Christmas. Playing for Pizza was predictable. It centers around Rick, a washed out NFL football player with loose morals who goes to play in Italy because everyone in Cleveland hates him and a cheerleader is claiming he is the father of her unborn child. I thought that maybe he was evolving into a better person, and then he flew to Cleveland and broke the jaw of the reporter who was slamming him. To his credit, by the end of the book, he stayed in Italy and was loyal to his team despite a better offer from a Canadian team, and he was deciding that maybe he was falling in love with the girl he was sleeping with. If you read this whole book on my recommendation, I am truly sorry...I give it one thumb down and one thumb up for a final answer of take it or leave it, we have better things to do with our time.
PS. I am sorry, please don't kick me out of Book Group.
4 comments:
Hey Andrea...not to worry...we don't ever kick readers out of the book group! :)
I did finish this book, too, hoping some redemption of character would come, but when it ended with Rick dreaming of long legs and Southern Italy beaches, I just about wanted to hurl. And, I agree...it didn't really GRAB my attention; it was mostly boring. The only parts I found interesting were the descriptions of places and food in Italy. The long play-by-play of his football games was totally over my head...I don't really 'get' football and didn't know what most of those terms were even referring to.
If John Grisham didn't have so many other great titles to his name, this one wouldn't have sold any copies.
The cathedral descriptions were awesome! But if I wanted play by plays I'd listen to a recap on the radio! The food sounded good too, but in the end, there was no redemption for Reek.
Andrea, I am relieved to know that you didn't love this book! I thought maybe there was something wrong with me! I got through about 100 pages, but could NOT bring myself to finish it. There was nothing to catch my interest. I kept waiting for the "big twist" in the story, but it never came. Grisham has a good writing style. We all know that he CAN create suspense in his fiction. I really enjoyed several of his law-based books. But, maybe he is currently taking a break from coming up with creative plots!
I can't really recommend this book to my husband. But, maybe if he did read it, the play-by-play football sections would thrill him. But, I'm with Adri. I was totally lost during those parts.
Oh, well...I guess we can't always judge a book by it's author. But, I don't blame you at all.
I wasn’t very impressed with this book either, I skipped over most of the football parts. I actually liked the part where Rick punched the sports writer in the face. I agree that it definitely wasn’t necessary for Rick to assault someone, but I didn’t really feel bad for the Sports Writer either. I guess I am overly sensitive because I have family members in the sports world and I know how much damage negative press can have on peoples lives.
One thing that really bothered me at the beginning of the book is the fact that Rick’s parents didn’t really want to see him or care about him because he messed up in a football game. Talk about unsupportive!
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