Description
This is just one book by Tove Jansson that, when I first read it as a child, I didn’t enjoy. It was far too melancholy for my young taste. The story concerns a group of people who come together unexpectedly one November at a small house in a valley beside the sea. They come with fond memories of summer days spent on the shore, sitting quietly amid blooming flowers and, most especially, they remember the kindness of those who lived there. They come seeking comfort and solace from the family whose house this is. But the family has gone away and now the house is abandoned, dark and musty. Now in November the valley is filled with rain, chilled air and the scent of decay.
These people are thrown off by the family’s absence. They are puzzled, upset and sometimes angry. They quarrel and they sulk. But, hopeful the family will soon return, they decide to remain and, slowly but with difficulty, they come to terms with the fall, with each other and with themselves.
As I read this book now many years later, I realize this is a fascinating character study and quite a subject to tackle in a children’s book. There is no adventure here – only feeling and reflection. Now I can marvel at how well Ms Jansson tells her tale. I suppose that now I have the experience to appreciate her story, these characters and their feelings…
For decades November depressed me. As the year died away, I too longed for warm green grass, long summer evenings spent with friends outdoors and the sight of fireflies twinkling in the woods. the days became shorter and colder and i would become more and more gloomy. This feeling would never really leave me until the first snow fell. Sometimes that was a long wait…
But i have learned to embrace November and find comfort in the beauty of decay. I have come to realize the warmth I long for is still there – but it has taken other forms and it has changed just as I have. Change is inevitable and although I am still sometimes sad as the fall deepens, I know there is much to look forward to. The coming snow will being the warmth of family and friends.
So now on rain chilled November afternoons, I am content to sit quietly and wait…
The scent includes Pumpkin Pie, Fallen Apples, Bonfire, Wood Smoke, Dried Grass, Fallen Leaves, Wet Branches, Damp Moss, Chanterelle Mushrooms and a hint of Pine Forest.
November was launched in 2008. The nose behind this fragrance is Christopher Brosius.
asydayDarse – :
Unusually for CB I Hate Perfume, this one skates very close to the edge of being unpleasant or a failure, but like with Beast, I think they have pulled off something tricky, and quietly wonderful.
November smells good. On the downside, as it evolves and evolves again, November either has or seems to have a cloying “Christmas candle” side to it, mixed in with the more layered mulled spices and baking smells. It makes one question instantly whether this fragrance can be trusted. The blending-in of the frozen earth accord is interesting and unusual — but a “move” we’ve come to expect from CB I Hate Perfume.
So… why does this perfume linger in the mind so much? Why do I think about it off and on all year, occasionally wearing it on a cold spring night or cold morning? Why will I probably buy a full bottle after I finish my current (and second) travel-sized sample?
Here’s why. November, for me, captures in a fragrance:
– The overload of being in crowded holiday kitchen. Too much happening at once… kids, carols, cookies, candles, heat, commotion
– Escaping to look out the window at the landscape, and then seeing and sensing the frozen ground (no snow yet)
– Standing out there in that cold, and starting to feel lonely, and then looking back into that warm, inviting kitchen. Being grateful that it’s still only November, with so much to look forward to: the pumpkin pie, the mulled wine, the sugar cookies, the pressure of family, and (yes) conventionality
The fragrance works by juxtaposing the frozen earth with the holiday baking smells, but that idea is insightful and its execution is excellent. It’s a perfume full of indulgence and also yearning, mourning and joy. Unabashedly seasonal but relevant year-round.
What an interesting journey. In my real life, I wouldn’t want any dirt in my pumpkin pie, but here I’ll gladly receive it and ask for seconds.
pussycat – :
This scent is very cloying at first. It dries down to something a bit nicer and subtler in the course of an hour, however it lacked depth and wasn’t particularly impressive even at this stage. Was happy to wash it off, which unlike many modern perfumes, proved easy.
uuuzzzjjjccc – :
I really, really, really wanted to love November but alas – after the first whiff of damp, woods, and pumpkin pie, it fades on me into sugar cookie, then ‘generic sugar cookie candle’. Sadface. Maybe it’d be different if it wasn’t the water perfume, but I don’t want to order another one to check.
venom1809 – :
My most recent batch of samples from the Perfumed Court included this, Eau de Lierre from Dyptique, and Zombie for Her from Demeter. I was shooting for either a realistic basement scent, or something fresh and clean that reminded me of my childhood playing in the woods.
This was the only sample I actually liked (aka didn’t hate). I didn’t strike gold with either of my goals, because this is neither a basement-esque scent nor a fresh, clean forest scent.
On my skin, it was straight up fresh, sweet, pumpkin with a bit of mushroom in the background. It was slightly sweet in a natural way, most likely the dirt. I didn’t pick up any essence of coldness or decay. Mostly sweet, spiced pumpkin.
It reminded me all too much of one of those Home Sweet Home yankee candles, or one of those blehh-quality pumpkin candles that you see all over the place around October.
It wasn’t particularly likeable to my nose, since the moldy notes brought down the sweetness of the pumpkin, while the pumpkin notes interfered with the musty, moldy qualities. The balance was off. I would’ve preferred this to be one or the other: either sweet, spicy pumpkin, or cold, moldy, musty notes. The two accords together makes this nonharmonius and really awkward to wear.
It even smelled a bit like semen, which is just NOT okay to wear out :p No thanks, CB. I’ll try some others.
gavrisss – :
Personally I really liked this scent. A friend gave me a tester and I wore it until it was gone. But then again I love warm foody smells and to me this was like wearing a pumpkin pie so I was a happy camper. I would probably only wear in in autumn though.
vladek2001 – :
I was apprehensive about wearing this to work today for two reasons: 1) no fragrances are allowed in the office (but I wear them anyway) and 2) I haven’t worn this fragrance yet (wasn’t sure how November would interact with my skin chemistry). When I opened the bottle I immediately detected the pumpkin spice notes before I applied the fragrance. Then I smelled the decayed leaves and fallen apples after I applied the fragrance (absolute). After a couple of hours I detected a waxy note like a candle or crayons along with another faint sweet note that reminded me a little of Creed’s “Love in Black”. I enjoyed wearing this fragrance to work. November brought back memories of going on day hikes in the woods late in the afternoon on Thanksgiving Day. No one in the office could detect the fragrance on me which is another plus. The thing is November doesn’t even smell like an everyday fragrance. I like November but so far Cedarwood Tea is my favorite fragrance from CB I Hate Perfume.
Erehsim – :
Yup, smells like the road in November. Sludge, icewater, dirt and mildew notes. It’s not a perfume remotely, but of course that’s CB’s thing. This unfortunately isn’t wearable, but it makes a very evocative sachet to snorf when you feel yourself getting reminiscent of that long stretch between Halloween and Christmas. Eh. I wouldn’t wear this but it’s certainly a fragrance painting.
sergey620 – :
This reminds me quite a bit of Samhain by Goth Rosary but much better. This fragrance is very much Estee Lauder’s Spellbound without the foghorn florals – sweet halloween smells with a gorgeous rotting leaves chypre accord. This one sadly doesn’t last very long. 🙁
lexx14 – :
Oh, wow, this is so unwearable. It almost made me sick in my tummy when I first inhaled it, but then it turned to pumpkin kind of smell with rotten leaves. Well, the “pumpkin” part ir rather enjoyable and doesn’t make me want to scream – get it off me, but it’s still disturbing. I really cannot imagine this being wearable on someone.
iq1 – :
This fragrance certainly starts out like a November day: very unappealing. The smell of decay hits you in the nose, as if it was mixed with aldehydes. But then,as the November analogy continues, one becomes more accepting of the season and the smell of pumpkin pie spice settles in. Other perfumes such as Tea for Two and Safron Troublant do this spicey journey, also, but are very wearable fragrances. This one is not.
dfgh – :
do you know that pumpkin smell in women attracts men? google it, ladies. don’t know what’s in the pumpkin that arouse them sensually.
mahovik – :
Since I love “Moominvalley in November ” by T. Jansson, I was excited when I found that someone created a perfume based on it. I tried it, and indeed, it smells a lot like a november day, although I would call it a november day in a climate a bit warmer than the one I live in. There are rotten apples, wet leaves, some kind of mushrooms, maybe a hint of pumpkin and lots of mildew. Definitely not a scent you can wear to opera or for a date. But maybe for a walk in an autumn afternoon. This perfume tells a story, but not the one anyone wants to hear often: about wandering and searching for one’s self, about a lack of close comforting relations, about a one’s naked soul standing in front of the mirror. Just like the novel.
Orillanapdips – :
This perfume certainly smells like november. Damp, moist, cold and rainy. Mushrooms hidden in the wet moss. Branches and greens. Something weirdly sweet in the background. I would never wear this perfume, but I’m impressed of how much it resembles the actual smell of november.
trackerplusru – :
I get some (sweet) pumpkin pie spice but that’s about it. granted i’ve only smelled it straight from the vial because I am too bored with that to even bother applying it for a real test.