"That Distant Afternoon" is a subtle and uncannily penetrating novel, and by the time we have reached its final, fascinating page we have observed something momentous: a young and very human being has taken several long strides toward maturity….

[Although] Mr. Fuller is a wit and an ironist, he respects his characters; he knows (and irrefutably demonstrates) that a boy of fourteen or fifteen is at least as complex and as worthy of concentrated attention as any adult. He also commands a polished, supple, almost immaculate style; and part of its delight is a constant play of simile—often surprising, always original and strikingly apt—in which much of the wit and the illumination resides. "That Distant Afternoon" may be on a small scale, but it is first rate, an accomplished, impressive and continuously entertaining novel.