Playing for Pizza by John Grisham

Playing for Pizza is one of those books that touch your heart.

It is a book about football (not soccer, which is what I generally associate with the word 'football'), about food, about Italy, and about passion and love. When I first read this book, I didn't know a thing about american football (admittedly, I still don't know too much about it) and I thought that it would be a pretty boring book for someone who is admittedly not too much of a sports fan. (And, when I recently recommended the book to a friend, she also said 'Oh, I don't really like american football, so I don't want to read it'). Well, here's the thing - you don't have to know anything about american football (or, for that matter, any sport in the world) to enjoy this book. You can enjoy it if you know a thing or two about doing something for love, about culture and about friendships that can last forever.

I think one of the best things about the book is the main character. Rick is, by no means, perfect. The book begins with him being the 'biggest goat in the history of professional football', by throwing three interceptions and causing his team to lose a match that they were almost certainly going to win, and making them lose the cup. He then finds that no team in the country wants to touch him, except for a team in Parma, Italy (and he has never even heard of the place) - Italy, where when you say 'football', they mean soccer. Well, he faces this ridicule bravely, moves to Italy (with a little complaining) and ends up falling in love with the place. And eventually the choices he has to make for the team and for himself are the highlight of the book.

There are some great minor characters - Sam (Rick's new coach), Franco (an old judge part of the Parma Panthers) and Nino (a restaurant chef who is also part of the team), Fabrizio ("high maintenance, think's he's god's gift to football, great hands"). All the Italians in the Parma Panthers play for nothing more than the love of the game (and for the after-game Pizza) and with them Rick (and the readers) learn what football really means. Each character is distinct and well-crafted, and their individual egos, problems, phobias, and aspirations form as big a part of this story as Rick's learning experience does. In this book, you will come to like some of the Parma Panthers and dislike some of them, but it is hard to ignore any character that you're introduced to, simply because Grisham is so good at crafting the characters.

Another great thing is the setting - the small town of Parma in Italy is shown in all its glory and all its failings. The descriptions of the food, the buildings, the small cars, the fashion, and the opera - all of this things will make you want to visit this place. Every small detail shows how well Grisham has studied this place. You are transported to Parma, and you might just fall in love with it enough in this book to want to stay there forever.

Final thoughts: Brilliant characters, well-researched setting and a good premise. You don't have to be a football fan to love this book.

Other things: I haven't been able to finish Frankenstein yet, but I think I'll put that on hold for now, and move on to reading something else.