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Making the Cut
  • Published: 5 March 2026
  • ISBN: 9781529951721
  • Imprint: Ebury Press
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $55.00
Categories:

Making the Cut

Formats & editions
EBook
5 Feb 2026
Hardback
5 Mar 2026
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A touching and hilarious memoir of an unconventional Jewish love story, from ‘Britain’s answer to David Sedaris’ (Andrew O’Hagan)

‘\"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 despite his upbringing, 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 one of the world’s most demanding religious conversion processes. 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.
  • Published: 5 March 2026
  • ISBN: 9781529951721
  • Imprint: Ebury Press
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $55.00
Categories:

About the author

Max Olesker

Max Olesker is a multi-award-winning comedian, a Contributing Editor at Esquire, and was once Britain's youngest professional wrestler. He is one half of globally acclaimed comedy double-act Max & Ivan, who have created sitcoms for TV and radio and have performed their intricate multi-character live shows at SXSW Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, as well as on tour throughout the UK. Making the Cut is his first book.
MO

Praise for Making the Cut

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

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

‘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

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

Making the Cut is a riotous memoir: by turns hilarious, horrifying, and moving.

Ed Caesar

A funny and fascinating true tale of family, Jewishness, and the things we do for love!

Phil Wang

A very funny and utterly compelling book, pulling back the curtain and removing the foreskin of a fascinating world.

Adam Kay

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

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

If anyone questions whether Max Olesker is a genius, the answer is very simple: he has managed to find immortal comedy in the labyrinth of Jewish religious bureaucracy.

Adam Thirlwell

Both witty and moving

The Herald