The Right Waters, ref. 2

  A monstrous whale was charging the craft, a froth of water, like the slaver
  of a mad dog, trailing from its partly open mouth.  It must have been the
  wan light which created the illusion, but the beast looked white.

Misanthropic albino whales are distinctive enough that in the scene above Moby Dick can hardly be mistaken, and given the relatively recent nature of the work, especially with the existing coverage in schools and cinema taken into account, general recognition from the readership would be expected. The immediate use of such a dramatic and familiar reference is probably meant to catch the reader's attention, and to announce the central conceit of the book as a world of interactive literary allusion (or at least startle the reader a little). From the standpoint of 'constructing a reading list' I find it a dubious selection, even daunting, recalling as I do a story with a fairly simple plot padded out to the size of a phone book with satirical lessons, exposition on whaling, ridiculous vignettes and a curious, eccentric style characteristic of either the time it was written or the work's author.

On the other hand, readers have praised it for its use of language and its approach to storytelling. There is thus room to hope that my original impressions were incorrect, and when judging literature the assessments made under the influence of critical study in high school English class are a poor test. Not to suggest that that's likely.

( sig )