The newest books by jewzsh authors, about Jewish subjects or of interest to Jewish readers. FICTION Mrs. Hornstien By Fredrica Wagman; Henry Holt; $17.95. With a knack for capturing eeting a prospective for her mother-in-law, whose mother-in-law for the enormous spirit and raw power the distinct cadence of dialogue first time can be a daunt- gives Marty an insight into the and a merciless eye toward de- ing endeavor by anyone's human condition that few oth- tail, author Fredrica Wagman gives a candid look at the class standards, but for timid, 17- ers ever achieve. Though tough as nails, as the differences among American year-old Marty Fish, it becomes years go by Golda becomes Jewish families and the various life-defining. a figure of valor and relationships that exist. But When Marty's MOVIES pathos as she deals with mainly, Wagman spins a story boyfriend Albert Horn- the death of a child and a in praise of marriage and fami- stien takes her home to meet his mother, Golda, Mar- husband, and her own failing ly and the ties that bind us to- ty thinks she seems "more like health. For Marty, Golda "was gether through the joys and an apartment house or a bank the real teacher of my life," and excruciating pain that life can or a department store than a in the end it is Marty who sits provide. regular woman ... there was at Golda's side as death draws near. something enormous — Leslie Joseph about her." And yet something about this smallish yet incredibly forceful woman dazzles the inexperienced teen- ager. Golda reigns supreme high above Rittenhouse Square in her opulent Philadelphia apart- ment, surrounded by jewels and marble sculptures. There she presides over her husband and two children with an all- encompassing em- brace, if not iron fist. The frequent jibe from her children be- ing "whatever the boss lady says," ren- ders nary an eye from their mother, who locks herself in her room for a week upon hearing the news of her son's engagement to the socially inferi- or Marty. The two women eventually forge an intimate relationship, and that is the story of. Mrs. Hornstien. Told in - the under- stated but increas- ingly wise voice of Marty, the novella tells of Marty's initial intimidation and eventual admiration Leslie Joseph is a freelance editor and an avocational reader. A young girl gets more than she bargained for in Fredrica Wagman's M Mrs. Hornstien. Benjamin's Crossing By Jay Parini; Henry Holt; $23. German-Jewish critic and philosopher Walter Benjamin, was, at the time of his death in 1940, relatively unknown; in the past three decades, he has ac- quired almost cult status in the academic world. Parini's fiction- alized account of his fleeing Eu- rope to escape the Nazis is told in a way that makes the story part tragedy, part dark comedy. By Leslie Abramson with Richard Flaste; Simon & Schuster; $25. Best known for her defense of Erik Menendez, attorney Abram- son presents her chronicles of her most notorious murder trials in such a persuasive manner that you'll not only like her, but her felons, too. Castles Burning: A Child's Life In War By Magda Doles; Norton; $24. Told by the precocious 9-year- old Magda — who her mother calls "insolent and far too smart for her own good" — Castles Burn- ing recounts her childhood in Hun- gary, her family's hiding and her adoring and adored older brother. NEW IN PAPERBACK Jay Parini brings Walter Benjamin to life in his novel Benjamin's Crossing. American Pastoral By Philip Roth; Houghton Mifflin; $26. Nathan Zuckerman, the man- ic hero of five of Roth's novels, shows up once again, now falling in love with the normality of all- American life. In The Memory Of The Forest By Charles T. Powers; Scribner; $23. Written by an American jour- nalist who lived for five years in Warsaw, Memory opens with a murder that leads to a deeper se- cret: the disappearance of a small farming village's Jewish popula- tion, which was 80 percent of the village's pre-World War II popu- lation. The War 1939-1945: A Docu- mentary History Edited by Desmond Flower and James Reeves; De Capo; $24.95. From the German invasion of Poland to the Japanese surrender, The War displays writings from the conflict and, said the New York Times, "This is a book for every- one who wants to understand the war because it transcends national and personal rivalries. This is what it was like." They're Playing Our Song: Conversations With America's Classic Songwriters By Max Wilk; De Capo; $14.95. Stephen Sondheim, the Gersh- wins, Richard Rodgers; Wilk com- prises their careers, inspirations and techniques through anec- dotes. — Compiled by Lynne Konstantin 1/), 0 14 V ...S?0,19 NONFICTION Streisand: A Biography By Anne Edwards; Little, Brown & Co.; $24.95. An unauthorized show-biz suc- cess story of the gal from Brook- lyn who, says Walter Matthau, was "corrupted by power" by her second film. The Defense Is Ready: Life In The Trenches Of Criminal Law Twenty-six songwriting greats are illuminated in They're Playing Our Song.