[Grammar] Is this a correct use of the verb "to breathe"?

[Unregistered]

Hi,

I saw this in a translation:

He pictured her unlocking their Prague flat, and suffered the utter abandonment breathing her in the face as she opened the door.

Is "breathing her in the face" correct??? Sounds wrong to me.

Sanan

 

[Amigos4]

Hi,

I saw this in a translation:

He pictured her unlocking their Prague flat, and suffered the utter abandonment breathing her in the face as she opened the door.

Is "breathing her in the face" correct??? Sounds wrong to me.

Sanan

This sentence makes no sense to me! Something was definitely lost in the translation! ;-)

 

[kfredson]

Hi,

I saw this in a translation:

He pictured her unlocking their Prague flat, and suffered the utter abandonment breathing her in the face as she opened the door.

Is "breathing her in the face" correct??? Sounds wrong to me.

Sanan

We might well say, "breathing down her neck" "or "staring her in the face," but I haven't heard "breathing her in the face." It is quite an imaginative expression, however, so I wouldn't rule it out. (I'm always in favor of creative new metaphors.) The bigger problem is the reference; it is not clear what is happening here. Is he the one who suffered? Or is it she? Either way, it needs to be rewritten. Perhaps it should be as follows:

He pictured her unlocking their Prague flat, suffering the utter abandonment breathing her in the face as she opened the door.

That might make a little more sense, but the sentence is still quite confusing.