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The Final Word (novel)

2011 Bosnian novel by Zlatko Topčić

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 26, 2026
Entity authorityQ31364901 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Final Word (Bosnian: Završna riječ) is a bestseller novel by Bosnian writer Zlatko Topčić. It was published in 2011 by Europapress Holding & Novi Liber (Hanza Media in 2016).

Recognition

It received the Hasan Kaimija Award for best book published in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2011 and 2012, and the Skender Kulenović Award for best book published in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2011.

The novel was labeled "the decisive work of post-Yugoslav engagement prose". Critics wrote that it is "a great world literature" from "a great world writer".

Translations

The French translation (Le mot de la fin, M.E.O. Edition, Brussels) was published in 2016 and was ranked first on the list of international bestsellers of BookDaily in 2017, became the first novel from Southeast Europe to appear on that list.

Editorial summary

“The Final Word (novel)” enters the record as 2011 Bosnian novel by Zlatko Topčić. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Final, Word and novel can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2011, 2016, 2012, 2017—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 2011-01-01. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Final, Word and novel.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“The Final Word (novel)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Final, Word and novel provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q31364901. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2011, 2016, 2012 and 2017.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

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  • Tracing reception history
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Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Final Word (novel)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Final Word (novel) primary sources, The Final Word (novel) archive and Final research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Final Word (novel)”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “The Final Word (novel)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.