John Grisham takes on Italy

Playing for Pizza is not the typical John Grisham lawyer novel. The story takes place in Parma, Italy, where Rick Dockery, a disgraced third string NFL quarterback, at the advice of his frazzled agent, decides to take a quarterback postion with the Panthers, a team in NFL Italy. (Yes, there is such a thing.)

When Rick arrives in Parma, he feels like a fish out of water, but soon adjusts to his Italian teammates (who are unpaid, really "playing for pizza") and rediscovers a part of himself that he thought had been lost forever. This ends up changing his life in ways he never would have expected.

This book is a bit of a slow read, especially compared to Grisham's other novels. But it is a good book for those of you who want a refreshing change of pace, or who love to read about Italian food.