Book Review: Miracles Over a Cup of Cappuccino
Miracles Over a Cup of Cappuccino is a well-crafted piece of fiction. I would rate this book 4.5/5 as it has touched every piece of life very gently. Multiple stories are garlanded into a single piece and the story climax acts as a holding thread of every story. With every page, your belief in miracles becomes stronger and by the end, you will be a firm believer in the miracles and destiny.
The multiple twists and turns make it an interesting piece and readers, if you are in doubt which next book to hop into, go for Miracles Over a Cup of Cappuccino by Manu Kumar Lal. This book will provide various insights into different aspects of life including love, relationships, friendship, trust, and belief with a multitude of emotions. I am personally not a fiction lover, but I really liked how the author has turned the idea of self-help into a fictional piece. Prima facie, readers might feel it to be a collection of short stories but as they reach the climax, every dot will connect and provide the larger frame.
That’s why calling it just fiction would be an injustice to the thought process of the author who has planted the seeds of hope in the reader which will sprout into a big tree with fruits like miracles, belief and positive attitude. Well, let’s decode this book from my perspective.
When you start the novel its very first chapter ‘Stranger in the Night,’ gives you a very mysterious feeling and makes you think it to be on a thriller side. But as you move forward with the chapters, you will realize that beautifully the author has tricked you in the beginning. This novel will take on a roller coaster of emotions. Somewhere you will feel the joy of happiness, sometimes it will give the pain of broken relationships and sometimes you will be thrilled by the twists and turns the story takes. But all I can say is that author has done enough justice in representing the multiple emotions through different stories. Readers will find all the ‘MASALA’ and ‘MAGIC’ a life has in the novel.
As a reader, I really like how a place (coffee house) became the center of attraction of the entire novel and most of the stories revolve around it. I feel it is the magic of the cup of cappuccino that has the power to bring the different stories in a single place. Different characters and their stories not only act as the force to bring back the lost faith in the miracles but also keep the interest of the reader intact throughout the novel. Every character’s story is written in a way that the reader can relate to.
If I have to describe Miracles Over a Cup of Cappuccino, I would say it is a book full of tales of hardship and suffering, endeavor and transformation, faith and miracles. Indeed, the miracle is the central theme of the book, the center of narratives, and the essence of actual existence. The book is full of amazing accounts of miracles occurring in the lives of ordinary people just like you and me. All stories, however, have a different plot that leads to the same peripheral concepts about life and struggle, and a hope that has the power to change every scenario.
Aryamann, the main character of the story is dealing with anxiety and depression. The author has effortlessly pictured the daily struggles that a depressed human being has to go through. He is dealing with multiple issues at the same time. Broken relationships, financial instability, and what not. In short, his whole world is collapsing. But a few miracles over the cup of cappuccino is what changes his life. How different stories of strangers motivate him to give his life a second chance and improve his broken relationships. How totally different individuals affect one’s life is beautifully portrayed in the novel. Even in life, whenever one looks back we are able to connect different dots and realize how things are planned by the almighty. But we as human beings do not believe and often doubt the almighty’s plan.
One of the best things about Miracles Over a Cup of Cappuccino, are the questions about life it left with the readers. Deep down every one of us is dealing with some sort of pain and unaccepted truths of life. Sometimes it becomes so difficult to face them and one chooses to avoid but that only provides a temporary solution. Without facing, all you do is just collecting them and making your bag heavier, which eventually turns into anxiety and depression. Life is never fair but a ray of hope and belief to change the situation can turn it into your side. A guiding force is always there but sometimes we only ignore it. Over time when one tries to find the answers to questions like- Why did it happen to me? Why am I suffering? Why did I fail? One realizes that it is part of the bigger plan that destiny has for you.
The modern-day problems like mental health and wellbeing are subtly captured by the author and showed that with self-belief you can change the entire situation and restart the life in a more refreshed way. The magic of hope, belief, human connection, and assertion are blended so well in this book that everyone is compelled to find a reason to believe in miracles happening around their own lives every day.
Miracles Over a Cup of Cappuccino, although divided intothirty nine partsbut my favorite parts include those nine parts that contain the nine different stories of people. What I really like is how a single event in life changes your way of thinking. Similarly, those nine people had their miracles that changed their lives totally. And how their one meeting with Aryamann, leaves a long-lasting effect on him. Each of the stories had a message about the truths of life and the author has given the messages to the readers in the most subtle way. After going through those nine stories readers will be left with emotions like compassion, empathy, love, kindness, trust, and belief in miracles.
The way the author has described everything, it appears as if it is happening in front of eyes. His choice of words aptly describes the emotions of the characters of different stories. The minute details like the address over the visiting cards derive its resemblance with the character is commendable. All this enhances the experience of a reader while going through the pages and keeps the interest in reading intact.
Other than the stories of nine different people, what really excited me was the climax. It brings the thrill back which I felt at the starting of the novel. It is the part that unveils various hidden truths about Aryanmann and clarifies various doubts and confusion of his family members. As the story moves towards the ending it left you with a belief in miracles. Miracles over a cup of cappuccino contains everything to make it a perfect novel to give it a try. The author, Manu Kumar Lal should be appreciated for bringing different types of emotions through his piece of writing.
Manu Kumar Lal has not just maintained the flow in the entire piece but beautifully crafted every story to make it relatable to you and me. While reading the book you will feel connected and will definitely find it relatable to your life. This a well-crafted self-help fictional novel that gently revolves between fantasy and reality. As the reader dwells into the stories, he or she will enter the world created by the author and in an instant it may persuade you to believe in something you wouldn’t normally consider real. But that’s the beauty of the novel that it will develop your faith in MIRACLES.
Summarizing this book is quite a task as it deals with every one of us, our daily life problems, failures, relationship and family issues and most importantly the HOPE that we all carry with us that one day everything will be alright. Belief in God and Miracles is the major theme which has been showcased through various twists and turns. As the story ends on a note where a lot more can happen so, I feel that the entire book deserves a second part as it has left a lot of hunger to know more about the protagonist’s future story.
I highly recommend this book to every reader, as it will not be just an addition to your bookshelf but will also add a positive belief in Miracles to your life. Just like acceptance is the first step to change, similarly, a strong belief is mandatory for unexpected positive turns in your life. So, start believing is all I can suggest after reading this incredible book- Miracles over a cup of cappuccino.
Without a second thought, you should give it a try!
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