Sunday Reading

Dan Barry on the Little Pee Dee River: The boat moves through the murky river waters while swallow-tailed kites stir the evening sky and a little blue heron poses beside the cypress-lined shore, as if for Audubon. But these natural wonders only distract from the expedition's purpose, which is to seek out a specific endangered species.



Shhh. There's one now.



"River shack!" Chris Crolley, the boat captain, says, his tone a mix of awe and disgust. "There you go."



John Irving on Gunter Grass: What is it with the onions? I wondered.



And what did Grass mean about the silence? "Ever since that Friday I've known what silence is. Silence sets in when gulls veer away. Nothing can make…