Book Review: Playing for Pizza by John Grisham

 I wanted to share with you a book I just finished reading, Playing for  Italy. The setting drew me in but the character Rick Dockery and his experiences in a foreign land kept me interested. It is about a football player and I know little of the game of football but it didn't matter.
 Reading this story brought me to the village or Parma, Italy. Through Mr. Grisham's eyes I could taste the Italian cuisine, savor regional wines, and hear Italian being spoken with passion. It was a memorable trip to Italy with the sport of Italian Football thrown in!

Story description from John Grisham's website.
 http://www.jgrisham.com/playing-for-pizza/
Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game against Denver, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into the game. With a 17-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provided what was arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he became a national laughingstock and, of course, was immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams.
But all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent, Arnie, find a team that needs him. Against enormous odds Arnie finally locates just such a team and informs Rick that, miraculously, he can in fact now be a starting quarterback. Great, says Rick—for which team?
The mighty Panthers of Parma, Italy.
Yes, Italians do play American football, to one degree or another, and the Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player—any former NFL player—at their helm. So Rick reluctantly agrees to play for the Panthers—at least until a better offer comes along—and heads off to Italy. He knows nothing about Parma—not even where it is—has never been to Europe, and doesn’t speak or understand a word of Italian.
To say that Italy—the land of opera, fine wines, extremely small cars, romance, and Football Americano— holds a few surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement.


Credit: Story description is property of  http://www.jgrisham.com/playing-for-pizza/. Review in italic is own opinion. Photograph is property of www.jgrisham.com.