The pace of Anthony Powell's very graceful novels in A Dance to the Music of Time is almost imperceptible; by contrast, his autobiography, Infants of the Spring, is a kaleidoscope of jumbled figures, piled together, emerging like members of a very large cast taking individual bows…. (p. 278)

The book goes only to the end of Powell's Oxford days, though there are many flashes forward. It can be tedious and trying—especially the genealogical Appendix—but it can also be sprightly and amusing. It will have its strongest appeal for those who already know the time and the literary figures in it. (pp. 278-79)

William B. Hill, S. J., in Best Sellers (copyright © 1977 Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation), December, 1977.