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Making the Cut
- Author
- Max Olesker
- Narrator
- Max Olesker
- Publisher
- Ebury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 5 February 2026
- Run Time
- 10 hours 56 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
‘“I liked the Jewish jokes,” she says.
“Oh, it’s OK”, I say. “I’m allowed to make them.”
Her eyes light up.
And so it all begins.’
When Max meets Eliana, a dazzling modern Orthodox Jewish girl, in a bar in Edinburgh one night, he never expected it to kickstart an agonising identity crisis. While their connection is instant and deep, Max discovers a devastating truth: that to millions around the world, including the girl he’s fallen for, he is deemed non-Jewish.
Determined to build a future with her, comedian and writer (and uncircumcised liberal Jew) Max Olesker embarks on the world’s most demanding religious conversion process. He attempts to navigate the dizzying complexities of Jewish law, the challenges of maintaining a relationship without physical contact, and the looming prospect of a date with a scalpel. From moving into the home of an Orthodox family for eight months to enduring gruelling interrogations by a high court of Rabbis, Max’s journey is a rollercoaster of humour, heartbreak, and self-discovery.
A hilarious and moving true account of one man’s quest to marry the love of his life, Making the Cut will make you laugh, cry, and believe in the transformative power of love.
© Max Olesker 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Critics Review
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A very funny and utterly compelling book, pulling back the curtain and removing the foreskin of a fascinating world.
Adam Kay
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A magnetic read from an exquisite writer. Wickedly witty, profoundly human, genuinely eye-opening. Intimate. Honest. Heart breaking. You’ll never forget it.
Deborah Frances-White
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Max Olesker is among Britain’s funniest comedians and he’s a natural writer — offering insights and brilliance that will blow you away. Heart-warming, true and hilarious, Olesker is Britain’s answer to David Sedaris.
Andrew O'Hagan
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This is the hilarious story of how one man can be both too Jewish and not Jewish enough at the same time... Whether cut, uncut or half-cut on Jägerbombs, Max Olesker is a comic genius and an absolute joy to read.
Viv Groskop
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Making the Cut is a riotous memoir: by turns hilarious, horrifying, and moving.
Ed Caesar
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I actually have no idea how Max Olesker survived the events in this book with his sanity intact, but he has somehow managed to write an account of his experiences that is fascinating, funny, painful and frequently jaw-dropping.
Lissa Evans
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A funny and fascinating true tale of family, Jewishness, and the things we do for love!
Phil Wang
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A funny, insightful and enormously engaging love story that has you invested till the end.
Esquire, Best Summer Reads
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Here is a story about belief – in love and in religion - that completely beggars belief. It is also unbelievably hilarious. I’ve never read anything quite like this book.
Devorah Baum
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Painfully funny and, at times, leg-crossingly painful, Making the Cut really shines as a love story of the most honest, heartfelt and star-crossed standards. The strength of that love underpins every riotously well-observed scene and sentence.
Luke Kennard
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Max Olesker
- Narrator
- Max Olesker
- Duration
- 10 hours 56 minutes
- Release Date
- 5 February 2026
- ISBN
- 9781529988123
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Ebury Publishing
- Genre
- Memoirs, Autobiography: arts and entertainment, Orthodox Judaism, Religious mission and Religious Conversion, Judaism life and practice, Dating, relationships, living together and marriage: advice, topics and issues
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin.‘“I liked the Jewish jokes,” she says.“Oh, it’s OK”, I say. “I’m allowed to make them.”Her eyes light up.And so it all begins.’When Max meets Eliana, a dazzling modern Orthodox Jewish girl, in a bar in Edinburgh one night, he never expected it to kickstart an agonising identity crisis. While their connection is instant and deep, Max discovers a devastating truth: that to millions around the world, including the girl he’s fallen for, he is deemed non-Jewish.Determined to build a future with her, comedian and writer (and uncircumcised liberal Jew) Max Olesker embarks on the world’s most demanding religious conversion process. He attempts to navigate the dizzying complexities of Jewish law, the challenges of maintaining a relationship without physical contact, and the looming prospect of a date with a scalpel. From moving into the home of an Orthodox family for eight months to enduring gruelling interrogations by a high court of Rabbis, Max’s journey is a rollercoaster of humour, heartbreak, and self-discovery.A hilarious and moving true account of one man’s quest to marry the love of his life, Making the Cut will make you laugh, cry, and believe in the transformative power of love.© Max Olesker 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
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