He applied the Page 69 Test to Outsourced and reported the following:Yep, it's very representative. Outsourced is about a bank heist, but is also about the group dynamics between friends and how badly things can go awry, and this page shows all of this. Dan Wilson, an ex-software engineer is seeing his middle-class existence disintegrating in front of his eyes, and out of desperation has come up with what looks like a brilliant plan to rob a bank. On page 69 he's trying to recruit Gordon Carmichael to join in. Gordon had worked for years with Dan at different companies, and has also hit upon hard times, and is close to losing his condo and being destitute. Gordon is an ex-Viet Nam vet who saw action, so he knows how to use a gun, and he also has other skills Dan needs. At first blush Gordon appears to be an goofball and severely socially awkward. But there's also a lot of rage hidden under the surface, and some of this rage shows briefly when Gordon throws out a different idea for how they can raise a lot of money quickly: by kidnapping a child of a mutual friend who was able to cash out at the top of the tech market bubble with a small fortune. When Dan is shocked by this and explains that they couldn't possibly do that, that the kid would be able to identify them, Gordon remarks how you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, but then just as quickly is back to his goofball self.Learn more about the author and his work at Dave Zeltserman's website and blog.
Check out the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.
--Marshal Zeringue
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