Semi-Tough, a comic sports novel, rests upon both of those traditions.

Ring Lardner is an obvious influence.

The novel is also a good example of regional fiction; much of the humor of language and characterization is specifically Texan. The pleasure exhibited in the eccentric and flamboyant behavior of the characters has its roots in the Southwestern folklore of the cowboy/ wildcatter/good old boy/outlaw hero.

In addition, the novel depends heavily on the tradition of wish fulfillment that is characteristic of romance; Billy Clyde is a fantasy figure of wish-fulfillment; in a less noble way, Barbara Jane Bookman is also. In the Giants' triumph over the Jets in the Super Bowl, one confronts the fantasy of the sports fan: his team, long a loser, wins it all. Jenkins's novel, written in 1972 in the spirit of wish fulfillment, provides the contem-porary reader with one of the...