I think it is to our benefit that he wrote such a distinct book. So I intentionally picked up this book at the used book store to fill that supposed gap, but how strange that this book is more slice of life, sports book as distant from legal thriller as Italy is from Antarctica. It is so striking to me that in the past three years in Puerto Rico, I have read none. Over the course of my life (I am in my 50s), I have read a lot of Grisham, all legal thrillers. And while there were certainly witty aspects and interesting elements of the plot, Playing for Pizza stands as one of the worst books I've ever completed. It was a train wreck through and through, and I wanted desperately to get to the end so I could determine if a book could really be so stupid.

At times, Grisham delves into such unbelievable detail in entirely extraneous descriptions of Italian food, culture and landmarks that it really seems as though this book's existence may have been the author's calculated ploy to tour Italy on his publisher's dime.īut like many of Grisham's books, Playing for Pizza was hard to put down. This was, quite simply, one of the dumbest and strangest books I've ever read. Out of pure curiosity I now occasionally pick up one of his more offbeat efforts, like this one about an American quarterback playing semi-pro football in Italy. And though I found none of them particularly memorable, I did enjoy his huge slew of legal thrillers back in the day. I started reading John Grisham books when I was the nerdiest sixth grader of all time and thought I'd grow up to be a lawyer. To say that Italy holds a few surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement. He knows nothing about Parma, has never been to Europe, and doesn’t speak or understand a word of Italian. So Rick reluctantly agrees to play for the Panthers–at least until a better offer comes along–and heads off to 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. Against enormous odds Arnie finally locates just such a team and informs Rick that, miraculously, he can in fact now be a starting quarterback–for the mighty Panthers of Parma, Italy.

Overnight, he became a national laughingstock and, of course, was immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams.īut all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent, Arnie, find a team that needs him. 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. In the AFC Championship game against Denver, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into the game.

Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.

Grisham pizza