Playing for Pizza

Remember that train scene in the movie "Venki" where Ravi Teja asks the girl sitting across if she reads Johan Greeesham's novel? Well after a long time I read a John Grisham's novel, "Playing for Pizza." It is a novel about a third rated NFL player who couldnt make his mark here in USA, ends up in Parma, Italy playing their league and wins them a championship and everybody is happy. Sounds pretty straightforward? Yes, it is indeed that plain vanilla form. You would think there might be a plot, a unexpected twist or at least some action. Surprise, there is none of these :)
There are a lot of characters in the novel which, frankly,you would wonder why they existed. A few days romance of the hero with a opera singer and she is gone. A game played and a player dropped out. A totally useless supposedly heroine who has no bearing on the story line. Story line, I wonder what the story line for this novel is.
Good things about the novel is that he introduces a lot of foods made in Parma, Italy. Parmesan cheese, Parma ham etc. Some explanation of the arches in Italy.
Overall, it was a waste; spent 6 hrs on the novel; but was worth the time pass from Chicago to San Diego.