Playing for Pizza

A Novel

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Christopher Evan Welch

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Fans of John Grisham live for his legal thrillers, but now and then he serves up something unexpected. That’s exactly what he does, with great success, in Playing for Pizza.”—USA Today

After providing what is arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL, third-string quarterback Rick Dockery becomes a national laughingstock. Cut by the Cleveland Browns, and shunned by every other team, Rick insists that his agent find a team that does need him.

Against enormous odds, Rick lands a job—as the starting quarterback for the Mighty Panthers . . . of Parma, Italy.

The Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player—any former NFL player—at their helm. And now they’ve got Rick, who knows nothing about Parma (not even where it is) and doesn’t speak a word of Italian. To say that Italy—the land of fine wines, extremely small cars, and football americano—holds a few surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement.

Critic reviews

“Enthralling.”—People

“This is a fish-out-of-water tale that perfectly suits Grisham’s strengths as a storyteller. . . . A feel-good story, a tale of maturing and finding your way in the world.”—USA Today

“Grisham at his best . . . a page-turner of a story.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Football in Italy? Who knew? Grisham means to have a sweet time with this story of a fallen NFL quarterback. And he does.”—New York Daily News

“A delightfully comic tale of redemption . . . deeply satisfying.”—The Boston Globe

“A winsome football fable, replete with team bonding and character-building . . . the result is a charming fish-out-of-water story.”—Publishers Weekly

Great light read

John Grisham's legal dramas are my favorite but I love when he strays away from the courtroom too.

Will Leave You Hungry

I really enjoyed this story. Lots of fun, interesting characters. The descriptions of the food made you want to travel to Italy and spend long hours eating and drinking. Not sure if this is a story doubling as a travelguide or a travelguide with a good story.

If you love football, love food, and are looking for a light story this is a good one.

Kept my interest.

Football story, not a complex plot. The ending was not a surprise. Easy listening. Have recommended to others.

Football

The story wasn’t bad and different from other Grisham books, but I don’t care about football, Kept my interest enough to listen to the whole book.

Italy, food, sports, and redemption.

This is a second read/listen. An enjoyable story. The game, the journey, traveling, the description of the Italian meals, and the loyal redemption.