When marriage turns into the crying game

Women in Men's Houses By Wee Kiat Landmark $69 WEE Kiat in her first novel has tried to depict the profound influence three men - father, husband and son - have on a Chinese woman's life. And after reading this book, many women may be put off the prospect of marriage.

In Chinese society, down the ages, men have sought to put women in their ''place'', that is, one which revolves around the home. Men are usually head of the household and have authority over all important matters.

The book is set in Singapore and looks at the lives of three Chinese women who grow up together. After marriage, the women move to their husbands' homes where unhappiness sets in as all their spouses have affairs outside.

For Yen Yen, this repeats the way her father behaved towards her mother and she grew up despising her father. She starts a relationship with her boss thinking it is love rather than lust - like her father's affairs with his mistresses - but when it comesto choosing between his wife or her, her boss picks the former.

When Yen Yen's husband finds out about the affair he tells her he has been in love with another man for eight years.

Yen's friend Ai Lian marries a foreigner. From reading Western novels she thinks they are gentlemen and she is shocked to find they also keep mistresses and hit their wives.