'Gabriel Flynn's work, rich with insight and wit, makes the world newly vivid' Claire Messud, author of This Strange Eventful History 'Laconic and darkly poignant, Poor Ghost tackles class, grief and narrative perplexity with distinctive dry wit' Leon Craig, author of Parallel Hells 'A brilliantly simple idea . . . compellingly complicated characters' Aidan Cottrell-Boyce, author of The End of Nightwork 'Intimate, clever, unforgettable' Elvia Wilk, author of Oval 'Darkly funny and deeply intelligent' Julianne Pachico, author of Jungle House When Luca drops out of his prestigious PhD programme and moves back home to Manchester, he thinks he'll take some time to consider his life choices: the failed love affair that ended in a disastrous holiday and embarrassing exit, the pursuit of an academic life that gave him nothing but a strong sense of failure. In need of money, and still convinced the literary life might be for him, Luca takes on a job as a ghost writer: Andy, who has