Donogoo Tonka or the Miracles of Science: A Cinematographic Tale

by Jules Romains, Brian Evenson (Translator), Joan Ockman (Afterword)

Donogoo-Tonka or The Miracles of A Cinematographic Tale is a mock film scenario written by the French novelist Jules Romains. It was first published in book form in 1920, and has never been translated into English. The satirical plot concerns a famous geographer whose academic career is about to be derailed by the revelation that he has invented a city in South America. Through a hilarious sequence of events, a suicidal young man finds a new mission in life by undertaking to build the fictional city, thereby redeeming the error and reputation of the absentminded professor.

Genres: Fiction

136 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1920

About the author

Jules Romains, born Louis Henri Jean Farigoule (August 26, 1885 - August 14, 1972), was a French poet and writer and the founder of the Unanimism literary movement. His works include the play Knock ou le Triomphe de la médecine, and a cycle of works called Les Hommes de bonne volonté (Men of Good Will).

Jules Romain was born in Saint-Julien-Chapteuil in the Haute-Loire but went to Paris to attend first the lycée Condorcet and then the prestigious École normale supérieure. He was close to the Abbaye de Créteil, a utopian group founded in 1906 by Charles Vildrac and René Arcos, which brought together, among others, the writer Georges Duhamel, the painter Albert Gleizes and the musician Albert Doyen. He received his agrégation in philosophy in 1909.

In 1927, he signed a petition (that appeared in the magazine Europe on April 15) against the law on the general organization of the nation in time of war, abrogating all intellectual independence and all freedom of expression. His name on the petition appeared with those of Lucien Descaves, Louis Guilloux, Henry Poulaille, Séverine... and those of the young Raymond Aron and Jean-Paul Sartre from the École normale supérieure.

During World War II he went into exile first to the United States where he spoke on the radio through the Voice of America and then, beginning in 1941, to Mexico where he participated with other French refugees in founding the Institut Français d'Amérique Latine (IFAL).

A writer on many varied topics, Jules Romain was elected to the Académie Française in 1946, occupying chair 12 (among the 40 chairs in that august academy). In 1964, Jules Romains was named citizen of honor of Saint-Avertin. Following his death in Paris in 1972, his place, chair 12, in the Académie Française was taken by Jean d'Ormesson.

Jules Romains is remembered today, among other things, for his concept of Unanimism and his cycle of 27 novels in Les Hommes de bonne volonté (The Men of Good Will), a remarkable literary fresco depicting the odyssey over a quarter century of two friends, the writer Jallez and politician Jerphanion, who provide an example in literature of Unanimism.

Reviews

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 1 out of 5]

FRANÇAIS: C'est la première fois que j'ais regardé cette comédie dans les archives de RTVE. C'est une œuvre très bizarre. Un géographe voit sa carrière menacée pour avoir affirmé l'existence de la ville de Donogoo. Pour éviter cela, il parvient à mettre en marche un mécanisme qui aboutit à que la ville soit fondée.

ESPAÑOL: Esta es la primera vez que he visto esta obra en el archivo de Estudio-1. Es una obra muy rara. Un geógrafo ve su carrera en peligro por haber afirmado que existe la ciudad de Donogoo. Para evitarlo, consigue poner en marcha un mecanismo que termina en que dicha ciudad sea fundada.

ENGLISH: This is the first time I've watched this comedy in the RTVE archive. This is a strange play. A geographer sees his career in jeopardy for having claimed the existence of the city of Donogoo. To prevent this, he manages to set in motion a mechanism that results in the city being founded.

[Tosh]

A real oddity of a book. A fake screenplay of sorts written in 1920. Never published or translated into English till now. This is a beautifully designed book out of Princeton Architectural Press. For sure it's eccentric as heck and it feels so good in my hands.

[Pádraic · Rating 3 out of 5]

A curiosity--a film script written in 1920, for a film that was never made, concerning a made-up city in Brazil that gradually becomes real through, like, the power of publicity and marketing. It's a strange thing, written very evocatively, frequently suggesting cinematic techniques that I'm not even sure would have been possible at the time. The edition is accompanied with some illustrations, and a lengthy essay that, while a bit too wordy, provides a bunch of helpful historical context etc.

[Novak · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting and curious

[Bruno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gelezen zonder te weten wie de auteur was (ik heb niet naar het voorblad gekeken, shoot me), op vraag van mijn wederhelft, die een tentoonstelling in het Gentse SMAK wou gaan bekijken, die daar blijkbaar op gebaseerd was (Rinus Van de Velde). Het verhaal deed heel retro aan, was erg kuifjesachtig, vond ik nog, en na afloop besloot ik toch even te kijken wie de auteur van de olijke boekje was. Jules Romains, jawel, de man van de illustere docteur Knock (Knock ou le Triomphe de la médecine), dat daar helemaal bij past.
Bijzonder aangenaam boekje, deze Donogoo Tonka.

[Louis Cabri]

Precursor of the graphic novel.

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If French colonialism were a pataphysical joke.

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Includes reproductions of some great modernist typographic bookcover designs.

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The accompanying essay by Joan Ockman provides a good overview of Romains's work.