Teetering Reviews
Teetering is an absorbing novel about later-in-life revelations of selfhood.
In Karen Mehiel’s intimate and layered novel Teetering, a woman contemplates her lengthy marriage and its impact upon her identity and feelings of purpose.
In 2021, Allegra and her husband, Sam, summer in the Hamptons at their “palatial” beach house, far away from their exclusive Manhattan apartment building. Entrepreneurial and charismatic, Sam is twenty years older than Allegra and is a workaholic. Meanwhile, despite her financial and marital security, Allegra often feels unsettled and anxious. Further troubled by menopausal changes, she worries about aging and becoming less attractive.
Inspired by Sam’s upcoming eightieth birthday, Allegra plans a lavish surprise party while trying to compartmentalize a potential cancer diagnosis. She begins writing a memoir about her relationship, too, looking back on how, when she was young and ambitious, she was introduced to Sam, her dashing new boss. Though they were married to other people at the time, they felt an immediate attraction. But as their relationship deepened, Allegra became less independent and more subsumed by Sam’s dynamic personality, though still working alongside her husband when it came to liberal political causes.
Covering Sam’s and Allegra’s lives from the 1940s to 2022, the book evokes each decade’s changing zeitgeist well. But it exhibits acute ambiguity in describing the paradox of impassioned protesters filling city streets in view of elite, elegant fundraisers. Indeed, though Allegra’s social consciousness directs her, she also self-indulges, and these contradictions are not always reconciled: During an upscale shoe sale, she contemplates the “pain, suffering, and division in the world,” yet she continues shopping with her friends. Allegra’s and Sam’s working-class origins are stressed throughout to suggest that they earned such privilege, though.
Though people’s backstories are covered in dense, drifting terms, the prose is intriguing when it comes to sharing situating details, as of the Greek key motif embroidered on Allegra’s wedding shawl and the experiences of leisurely summertime “rosé lunches.” Further, tension is sustained as Sam’s birthday approaches; the surgery to remove Allegra’s ovarian tumor is also impending. The book’s conclusion is moving, too, representing new growth for Allegra, who feels the release of being “cradled” by the universe, like a “particle in its vast expanse”––even as Sam seems unchanged, maintaining his loving yet domineering presence in Allegra’s life.
Capturing the complexities of an enduring marriage within the thrum of wealth and influence, Teetering is a compelling novel.
-Meg Nola, Foreward Clarion
Fusing introspection with domestic drama, Mehiel’s Teetering offers a profound reflection on marriage, motherhood, class, and sense of self. Set within the affluent social worlds of New York and Los Angeles, the novel follows Allegra Christos as she looks back on her decades-long marriage to Sam, a powerful businessman and political figure, while confronting the approach of his 80th birthday and her own cancer diagnosis. The book is structured around two timelines: a present-day story during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and an extensive retrospective narrative that stretches from the 1940s through the early 2000s. In the present, Allegra quietly grapples with ovarian cancer while writing a memoir of her life with Sam—as both a gift to him and a way to wrestle with her uncertain future.
Mehiel contrasts the past with the present and Allegra’s changing needs with those of her family through that unique structure, chronicling not just her origin story with Sam but also her relationships with her daughter, stepdaughter, and her sisters. Much of the present-day storyline deals with her fears of aging, growing distance in her marriage, America’s political divisions, and the legacy she will leave behind. The central premise—whether, “as they faced the mysteries and tragedies of life, of aging and illness” their love would be “strong enough to hold” is deeply affecting.
In answering that question, Mehiel examines Allegra and Sam’s experiences over the years: Sam’s crowded, working-class Greek American childhood shaped by discipline and relentless ambition; Allegra’s suburban Southern California upbringing marked by warmth and looseness; and the gradual transformation of their marriage from passionate to dependent. The concept is ambitious, and the novel can feel boundless, repeating the same emotional conflicts without substantially developing them. Still, Allegra’s attempt to redefine herself settles on an important revelation: “I’ll work on what I can, but I won’t seek perfection. Because it does not exist.”
Takeaway: Affecting odyssey of aging woman redefining her sense of self.
Great for fans of: Claire Lombardo’s Same As It Ever Was, Virginia Evans’s The Correspondent.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-PW Booklife
What stayed with me after reading Teetering: A Novel was its thoughtful exploration of the space between the life we present to others and the truths we struggle to acknowledge within ourselves. Karen Mehiel captures the quiet tension of a woman who appears to have built a perfect life while privately questioning whether that perfection has come at the cost of authenticity.
What makes Allegra Christos’ journey compelling is the emotional complexity behind her carefully maintained world. Her long marriage, family, and social standing create the appearance of stability, yet the secret she carries forces her to confront the fears and insecurities that have shaped her choices. The novel examines how even deeply loved relationships can be affected by the things we hide and the stories we tell ourselves. The book’s greatest strength is its intimate look at identity, anxiety, aging, marriage, and personal transformation. Rather than focusing on dramatic reinvention, Teetering explores the quieter and often more difficult process of accepting ourselves honestly and facing the realities we have avoided.
This book will resonate with readers interested in contemporary fiction, women’s fiction, family relationships, psychological fiction, and stories about self-discovery and emotional courage. I finished it reflecting on how a meaningful life is not created by appearing flawless, but by finding the courage to live truthfully.
-Emma, GoodReads
Teetering by Karen Mehiel is a thoughtful and emotionally resonant novel about identity, truth, relationships, and the quiet struggles hidden beneath the appearance of a perfect life.
The story follows Allegra Christos, a woman who seems to have achieved everything she once dreamed of — a loving marriage, family, and a life of comfort yet finds herself confronting the weight of secrets, anxiety, and the fear of losing control over the world she has carefully built.
One of the novel’s strongest elements is its honest exploration of vulnerability and self-discovery. Through Allegra’s journey, readers are invited to reflect on the expectations we place on ourselves and the courage required to face uncomfortable truths.
Karen Mehiel creates a deeply human portrait of a woman caught between maintaining an idealized version of her life and embracing authenticity. The emotional depth of the characters and the exploration of marriage, aging, love, and personal transformation make the story especially engaging.
Overall, Teetering is a moving and reflective novel about the complexities of being human, the importance of honesty, and the strength found in confronting the realities we often try to avoid.
-Laura Flavin, GoodReads