lifesaving

[frindle2]

Hello. Would you please tell me what the underlined part means in the context below?
Does it mean monks' robes he was wearing could be his lifesaver but it disappeared fast?

( A boy leapt off the cliff a moment ago. He was a monk in training and was wearing monks' robes at that time.)

A far drop, farther than it looked from the top.
A hard smack, harder than you'd think water could feel.
A bubble of air, trapped by monks' robes, lifesaving, but disappearing fast.
Desperate treading, gurgling, clawing for the surface.


Source: A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Hello. Would you please tell me what the underlined part means in the context below?
Does it mean monks' robes he was wearing could be his lifesaver but it disappeared fast?

( A boy leapt off the cliff a moment ago. He was a monk in training and was wearing a monk's robe at that time.)

Above, "monk's" and "robe" are singular. Below, "monks'" and "robes" are plural. Why?

A far drop, farther than it looked from the top.
A hard smack, harder than you'd think water could feel.
A bubble of air, trapped by monks' robes, lifesaving, but disappearing fast.
Desperate treading, gurgling, clawing for the surface.

Source: A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

Read it this way:

A bubble of air was disappearing fast.

A bubble of air, which was trapped by the monks' robes, was disappearing fast.

 

[tedmc]

How can a bubble of air which disappears in an instant be lifesaving? A life jacket with air sealed in would be lifesaving. That is not a logical description.

 

[GoesStation]

The air bubble was trapped in the robes, allowing the person to breathe for a little while or providing a little buoyancy.

 

[frindle2]

Above, "monk's" and "robe" are singular. Below, "monks'" and "robes" are plural. Why?

-> The words below are from the book. Above, I'm afraid I wrote them wrong. Thank you.

 

[tedmc]

The air bubble was trapped in the robes, allowing the person to breathe for a little while or providing a little buoyancy.

I wouldn't consider that "lifesaving" either.

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't think it's to do with him being able to breathe. A large bubble of air could actually keep him afloat for long enough for him to swim to safety.

 

[jutfrank]

It doesn't make sense to me. It seems silly to say that the bubble of air is lifesaving in any way. No one could gasp at an underwater air bubble, and an air bubble wouldn't keep anyone afloat. Also, the bubble would be rising to the surface whereas the text says disappearing fast, as if it's sinking.

I think it's much more sensible to think that by disappearing fast, the writer was referring to the monk, or possibly the robes, not the air bubble.

Is this a translation?

 

[emsr2d2]

As someone who once fell (was thrown!) into a pool while wearing an unfeasibly long dress (possibly similar to a monk's robes), I can confirm that it trapped quite a lot of air in the folds. I was, luckily, able to swim to the edge quite quickly and managed to get out, but I definitely rose up to the surface of the water quite fast after the initial dunking and I could see the air trapped in the dress.