Anand's limitations as a creative writer are so obvious that one does not have to construct elaborate rhetorical defences to justify his ideological commitments or rationalize the flaws of his prose style. Even a casual reading of Untouchable makes one conscious of stylistic clumsiness, inappropriate metaphors and compulsive repetitions. (p. 84)

Still, Anand's lack of stylistic vigilance has not seriously undermined his popularity, and even today, in an increasingly competitive literary market, novels such as Untouchable and Coolie enjoy a stable reputation. It could be argued, with some justification, that the highly politicized issue of the rights of scheduled castes, backward classes and minorities in India lends to Anand's work a poignant contemporaniety. But political and sociological relevance does not wholly explain the success of these novels, and it is possible to discover an aesthetic framework for an adequate appreciation of the novelist. (p. 85)

In Untouchable Anand successfully resists...