Book Review/Playing for Pizza
By BILL DUNCAN
The News-Review
As certain as I am that it is going to rain in Oregon in the next few days, I am just as certain that John Grisham does not need any sage advice from a writing instructor in Roseburg, Oregon, but if he were one of my students, I’d give him the same advice I give all my writing students — write about something you know.
Grisham, a lawyer, knows how to write a best selling courtroom drama. He has done that in at least 15 of his previous books, but lately he seems to have gone astray. His 2006 bestseller was "The Innocent Man," a non-fiction account of a murder conviction that led to a death sentence for an innocent man failed, in my opinion, to live up to the Grisham name. It was a bestseller, I believe, only because of his name.
As of this week, Grisham’s latest book, "Playing for Pizza" was number one on The New York Times bestseller list. I believe it got there on Grisham’s name alone. It is a light, interesting read, but it is not a page turner as those of us who are Grisham fans have come to expect from his pen.
Instead it is a fictional story of a football player named Rick Dockery, a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, whose three interceptions cost the team a chance in the Super Bowl and ends his national football career. The book opens when Rick is in the hospital coming out of a coma brought on by a crushing sack in that game.
The dialog is a groggy conversation between Rick and his agent, Arnie. Rick has little memory of that disastrous game and is unaware that fans tried to storm the hospital to make sure Rick didn’t recover.
From that beginning, which is Grisham’s great talent for grabbing his readers it becomes clear that Rick’s football career is over. He is a national laughingstock and of course, is cut immediately from the Cleveland Browns. His agent is unwelcome in the front office of every football team in the United States when he attempts to find Rick a new quarterback post.
Desperate to place his client, Arnie learns about a football league in Italy and manages to place Rick as a quarterback with the Panthers of Parma, Italy. From that point it turns into a sometimes humorous, sometimes serious football story that, in my opinion, becomes a lesson in conversational Italian, and a connoisseur of Italian food plus a travel guide to Italy.
Despite my disappointment in this book not being a courtroom drama and a legal thriller like "The Firm" and other books that made John Grisham such a popular author, and while I don’t think this book deserves a best seller listing, it is a fun book to read, small enough to digest in one sitting. I recommend it for light reading, but it is not a page turning thrill that will keep you up at night.
In his author’s note at the end of the book, Grisham explains that while in Italy researching material for his book, "The Broker," a legal drama worthy of the name John Grisham, he discovered American football being played in many parts of Italy, including a Super Bowl.
It led him to write "Playing for Pizza," and he says indeed many of the Italian players play for the love of the game and free pizza provided by the team owners. He said many of the teams rely on
American football players to supplement the amateur Italian teammates.
"The Parma Panthers are very real," he said. "I watched them play the Ancona Dolphins in the rain at Stadio Lanfranchi. Their coach is Andrew Papcoccia from Illinois State College…their quarterback is Mike Souza from Illinois State, wide receiver is Craig McIntyre of Eastern Oregon College and defensive coordinator is Dan Milstern from the University of Washington."
Grisham said each of those named assisted him in writing the manuscript for "Playing for Pizza," and with Grisham’s fascination with Italian food and wine. "The Panthers are a bunch of tough Italians who play for the love of the game and for the pizza afterward."
Grisham reassures readers that all the characters in "Playing for Pizza" are fictional emphasizing that "I went to great lengths to stay away from real people."
And, I am sure that Grisham will not go to great lengths to listen to my sage advice about writing and will go on to his 20th book laughing all the way to the bank.
(Bill Duncan is the editor of The Senior Times. He also writes a weekly column each Thursday on the Opinion Page of The News-Review.)
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Hey Uncle Jack! Greetings from Virginia. Mom (Ellen) is visiting for Abbey’s 10th birthday and was showing me all of the blogs and websites the family has. I’ve been reading yours and laughing at your great columns. I scrolled down to see if any book reviews were of books I’ve read and found this one. It was a fun book to read and actually made me add Italy to my list of places I’d like to visit some day – - one of the few places outside the continental USA I’d consider going. Your Parris Island column about the chocolate cake is going to some of my Marine friends, one of whom tells a story about his DI making him staple a piece of paper to one of his fingers. He can also recite the entire initial barracks scene from Full Metal Jacket without missing a word. Anyway, I’ve got you saved to my favorites so I’ll be checking in regularly.
Eric