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The Anarchist Kosher Cookbook
Drop your dreidel and feast your eyes on The Anarchist Kosher Cookbook!
Maxwell Bauman’s debut collection of strange Jewish-themed stories will shock and entertain with a modern twist on burning bushes, virgin ghosts, leviathans, Baphomitzvahs, and how to create your own golem to fight off Neo Nazis. These stories transcend the mundane mashugana of life through page turning plots and memorable mensch and schmuck characters. The Anarchist Kosher Cookbook is the perfect Bubbe approved Chanukah gift.
PRAISE FOR THE ANARCHIST KOSHER COOKBOOK
“Ghosts trying to get laid, an “erotic” burning bush, forbidden love between sea monsters and more fill this collection of Torah-influenced bizarro, horror, and pulp fiction. You gotta dig any book that has a recipe for a skinhead-killing Golem.”
—Jeff Burk, editor of Deadite Press and author of Shatnerquake
"Maxwell Bauman’s writing is wacky and weird. The Anarchist Kosher Cookbook is a strange, surreal, and hilarious ride.”
—Danger Slater, author of I Will Rot Without You and DangerRAMA
"Fresh, weird and funny. Bauman's work is a genuine surprise."
—Garrett Cook, author of A God of Hungry Walls
"Maxwell Bauman is equal parts joke teller and doomsday prophet, and his stories transform the somber and ancient religion of Judaism into a bizarro sideshow of death and fire and very dignified giggling. Basically, he’s a real mensch."
—David W. Barbee, author of A Town Called Suckhole and The Night’s Neon Fangs
“These Stories are weird, punchy, often funny, often emotional but never boring.”
—B. Diehl, author of Zeller’s Alley
Maxwell Bauman’s debut collection of strange Jewish-themed stories will shock and entertain with a modern twist on burning bushes, virgin ghosts, leviathans, Baphomitzvahs, and how to create your own golem to fight off Neo Nazis. These stories transcend the mundane mashugana of life through page turning plots and memorable mensch and schmuck characters. The Anarchist Kosher Cookbook is the perfect Bubbe approved Chanukah gift.
PRAISE FOR THE ANARCHIST KOSHER COOKBOOK
“Ghosts trying to get laid, an “erotic” burning bush, forbidden love between sea monsters and more fill this collection of Torah-influenced bizarro, horror, and pulp fiction. You gotta dig any book that has a recipe for a skinhead-killing Golem.”
—Jeff Burk, editor of Deadite Press and author of Shatnerquake
"Maxwell Bauman’s writing is wacky and weird. The Anarchist Kosher Cookbook is a strange, surreal, and hilarious ride.”
—Danger Slater, author of I Will Rot Without You and DangerRAMA
"Fresh, weird and funny. Bauman's work is a genuine surprise."
—Garrett Cook, author of A God of Hungry Walls
"Maxwell Bauman is equal parts joke teller and doomsday prophet, and his stories transform the somber and ancient religion of Judaism into a bizarro sideshow of death and fire and very dignified giggling. Basically, he’s a real mensch."
—David W. Barbee, author of A Town Called Suckhole and The Night’s Neon Fangs
“These Stories are weird, punchy, often funny, often emotional but never boring.”
—B. Diehl, author of Zeller’s Alley
118 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 12, 2017
8 people are currently reading
183 people want to read
About the author
Maxwell Bauman
29 books33 followersMaxwell Bauman is an author of humor, horror, YA and more.
He is owner and Editor-In-Chief of Door Is A Jar literary magazine. Door Is A Jar publishes short fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama and art with contributors from all around the world.
Door Is A Jar Literary Magazine
Maxwell is a contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul.
He is the Lead Editor of Aggadah Try It, an imprint of Madness Heart Press
He earned both his MA in Creative Writing with a focus in Fiction and MFA in Publishing from Wilkes University.
He is a member of the Horror Writers Association, Young Jewish Professionals, and the Jewish Art Salon.
He is owner and Editor-In-Chief of Door Is A Jar literary magazine. Door Is A Jar publishes short fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama and art with contributors from all around the world.
Door Is A Jar Literary Magazine
Maxwell is a contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul.
He is the Lead Editor of Aggadah Try It, an imprint of Madness Heart Press
He earned both his MA in Creative Writing with a focus in Fiction and MFA in Publishing from Wilkes University.
He is a member of the Horror Writers Association, Young Jewish Professionals, and the Jewish Art Salon.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 22, 2017
I blurbed this book. You wanna know what I thought? Look at the back cover!
May 7, 2018
Upon reading the last page of The Anarchist Kosher Cookbook and putting it down, I began to mull over the lack of multi-cultural influences and references in Bizarro literature. Frankly, it is not a genre that encourages the liberal use of ideological, ethical, or religious references. Its surrealism and its tendency to stretch imagery to unbelievable levels don't always gel well with presenting ideas and humor of a down-to-earth ethnic and cultural nature. Yes I sure there are exceptions but none jump out at me immediately.
Except for Maxwell Bauman. The author has presented a sort of "cookbook" on how to meld the traditions of Judaism into the passages of horror and Bizarro. Here are a half dozen tales all centering around Jewish culture and traditions and all unique. Hail the birth Kosher Bizarro!
It is that weird and bizarre turn on Jewish myths and traditions that make the collection. The first story, "When the Bush Burn" is a take on Moses and the burning bush without Moses and that particular type of bush. "The Messiah in New York" is all about the coming of the Messiah. Unfortunately he gets a little carried away with the raising of the dead. "You've Lost That L'Chaim" Feeling" takes place in 1831 is both a love story and a ghost story. It's has a clever winsomeness for its rather Orthodox setting ("Granted, all the girls looked that way for modesty's sake, but something about Isha made Chaim hot under the yarmulke"). It also tells us what what spirits do for kicks. It's my second favorite piece of short fiction in the book.
"The Leviathan Blues" is about the Creation. It is the saddest story of the collection, sad and beautiful. The title story of this collection is just what is should be, a recipe or more accurate a set of instructions. It might come in handy if you ever need to make a Golum when the Nazi hordes invade.
The gem of the book though is "Baphomitzah", involving two twins who are about to have their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. It's a funny and eventually horrific tale of becoming 13 and being a insecure middle class Jewish girl with a touch of evil...or is it just teenage angst?... in her. It alone is worth the price of admission.
Themed collections based on ethnic or religious themes, rise or fall on the ability to install an authentic sense of culture in the stories. You wouldn't think that is easy when you are writing horror and Bizarro but these six stories succeed quite well. The short fiction is also less enmeshed with the usual excesses of horror and surrealism found in this genre. This book would actually be good for those reader who just want something different and not necessarily caught up in genres. I am not sure The Anarchist Kosher Cookbook would be rabbi approved but Maxwell Bauman should certainly be pleased with his finished product.
Except for Maxwell Bauman. The author has presented a sort of "cookbook" on how to meld the traditions of Judaism into the passages of horror and Bizarro. Here are a half dozen tales all centering around Jewish culture and traditions and all unique. Hail the birth Kosher Bizarro!
It is that weird and bizarre turn on Jewish myths and traditions that make the collection. The first story, "When the Bush Burn" is a take on Moses and the burning bush without Moses and that particular type of bush. "The Messiah in New York" is all about the coming of the Messiah. Unfortunately he gets a little carried away with the raising of the dead. "You've Lost That L'Chaim" Feeling" takes place in 1831 is both a love story and a ghost story. It's has a clever winsomeness for its rather Orthodox setting ("Granted, all the girls looked that way for modesty's sake, but something about Isha made Chaim hot under the yarmulke"). It also tells us what what spirits do for kicks. It's my second favorite piece of short fiction in the book.
"The Leviathan Blues" is about the Creation. It is the saddest story of the collection, sad and beautiful. The title story of this collection is just what is should be, a recipe or more accurate a set of instructions. It might come in handy if you ever need to make a Golum when the Nazi hordes invade.
The gem of the book though is "Baphomitzah", involving two twins who are about to have their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. It's a funny and eventually horrific tale of becoming 13 and being a insecure middle class Jewish girl with a touch of evil...or is it just teenage angst?... in her. It alone is worth the price of admission.
Themed collections based on ethnic or religious themes, rise or fall on the ability to install an authentic sense of culture in the stories. You wouldn't think that is easy when you are writing horror and Bizarro but these six stories succeed quite well. The short fiction is also less enmeshed with the usual excesses of horror and surrealism found in this genre. This book would actually be good for those reader who just want something different and not necessarily caught up in genres. I am not sure The Anarchist Kosher Cookbook would be rabbi approved but Maxwell Bauman should certainly be pleased with his finished product.
February 29, 2020
I didn’t know exactly what to expect going in. I liked the title though, and Clash puts out good work, so . . .
The writing is definitely good. The author’s range is displayed well here. That is a strength. But it was a bit disorienting for me as well, because herein I found fairy tale, bizarro, horror, a bit of everything. I’m not sure why this threw me off, but it did.
Objectively speaking, once I got over that, I realized it was a good collection. The first story was probably my favorite. The last story featured characters that got under my skin. The bizarro apocalypse story took an interesting concept and ran with it, and the fairy tale about the leviathans was nice. It was cool that the leviathan story had been mentioned in one of the other stories as well. Kind of wove things together a bit thematically, which was nice because when it came to genre this was all over the place.
The stories are also connected by religious mythology. Here I was just familiar enough to recognize nods, but also had an opportunity to learn a bit. That I appreciated.
There’s a current of humor that runs throughout as well. I’m not going to say laugh out loud, but I definitely found myself smiling.
Ultimately I’d say it is a good collection and to keep your eye on Maxwell. He’s likely to produce reliably good material for consumption moving forward.
The writing is definitely good. The author’s range is displayed well here. That is a strength. But it was a bit disorienting for me as well, because herein I found fairy tale, bizarro, horror, a bit of everything. I’m not sure why this threw me off, but it did.
Objectively speaking, once I got over that, I realized it was a good collection. The first story was probably my favorite. The last story featured characters that got under my skin. The bizarro apocalypse story took an interesting concept and ran with it, and the fairy tale about the leviathans was nice. It was cool that the leviathan story had been mentioned in one of the other stories as well. Kind of wove things together a bit thematically, which was nice because when it came to genre this was all over the place.
The stories are also connected by religious mythology. Here I was just familiar enough to recognize nods, but also had an opportunity to learn a bit. That I appreciated.
There’s a current of humor that runs throughout as well. I’m not going to say laugh out loud, but I definitely found myself smiling.
Ultimately I’d say it is a good collection and to keep your eye on Maxwell. He’s likely to produce reliably good material for consumption moving forward.
June 25, 2019
I read this quickly not only because it's short but also because I just wanted to get through with it faster. These stories are puerile drivel. It's like it was written by a horny, 17yo, hetero boy who has never come close to having a real conversation with a girl. The stories are full of a really immature sexuality, sometimes featuring physically immature children . And don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly fine with sex and sexuality in books. I'm even fine with it being silly and absurd. This just felt like Bauman hasn't developed a mature understanding of sexuality himself and was enjoying thinking up the kids having sex in these pages just a bit too much, if you know what I mean. The only story that I found at all tolerable was Leviathan Blues, which was almost good enough to get the book a second star.
July 26, 2025
A collection of short stories of a single-book genre that could be called Jewish black horror comedy, mixing golems, stories from the Torá and other Hebrew lore to find families in a crossroad that almost never has a good ending for those involved. The first story is about a woman finding her pubic hair on fire and talking to her, the proverbial biblical bush on fire, only it’s a different bush.
I seem to have bumped into this book from a set of bizarro science fiction I bought, and yes, it’s bizarre, probably the most bizarre you’ve read. But amusing and entertaining all the same.
I seem to have bumped into this book from a set of bizarro science fiction I bought, and yes, it’s bizarre, probably the most bizarre you’ve read. But amusing and entertaining all the same.
February 15, 2018
I found this to be a fun collection. The title story and "Baphomitzvah" are my favorites, but all six stories in this book are strong. Maxwell Bauman has a solid touch for blending eroticism, romance, learning and humor (ranging from witty to deliberately groan-worthy) with the supernatural. At a little over 100 pages, the book makes for a fast read but it stays smart and offers readers a balanced range of emotion.
June 29, 2019
Jewish bizzarro stories. The burning bush speaks to a woman from her pubic hair. A ghost is upset she is a virgin. How to create a golem to kill skinheads. Conjuring satan to get even with a mean girl as a bat mitvah. that kind of thing. I read it all so it wasn't bad, but except for the one with the golem, I was not particularly engaged in the pieces.
November 5, 2019
While I admit ignorance on several terms used in the books (not being very familiar with the intricacies of Jewish customs / language) I still found this to be a very nice read.
The stories are short, nicely rounded and... hilarious.
I want more like this, especially since they have no problem with being a bit spicy. More please!
The stories are short, nicely rounded and... hilarious.
I want more like this, especially since they have no problem with being a bit spicy. More please!
May 20, 2018
These stories have such a great mix of the familiar with the wildly creative. The result is so unexpected, and very engaging. Interesting from the first page to the last, it is a tremendous amount of fun.
June 1, 2019
Struggled through half of this book, just couldn't get on with it.
It's poorly written, the characters are unbelievable and it even comes across as dumb (one character refers to knowing the sex of his two goldfish as after one died, the other "gave birth" to babies- that's not how fish work).
It's poorly written, the characters are unbelievable and it even comes across as dumb (one character refers to knowing the sex of his two goldfish as after one died, the other "gave birth" to babies- that's not how fish work).
December 31, 2017
DNF
I really wanted to love this but just could not get to grips with the writing. Not for me, but that's ok, YMMV
I really wanted to love this but just could not get to grips with the writing. Not for me, but that's ok, YMMV
April 17, 2018
This book was fun as hell. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve read any bizarro work, and it felt like coming home to my teen-aged self.
January 17, 2019
Bizarre and funny and grotesque and utterly captivating.
October 22, 2019
One Sheol of a wild ride! Bauman’s quirky style combines horror with Jewish tradition and a hefty dose of humor that, at times, had me snorting out uproarious laughter.
October 27, 2020
Bizarre, challenging and beautiful written
February 17, 2019
A hilarious twist on Jewish folklore. This book is a fun, light read to take with you on the subway or road trip.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews