The mysterious room that Rett wakes up in at the beginning of The Echo Room was inspired in part by provision depots set up by the government of New Zealand to aid shipwreck survivors.
In 1867, following a series of shipwrecks (including two ships that wrecked on Auckland Island at the same time without learning of each other!) the New Zealand government built provision depots in the Auckland Islands. These depots contained supplies to help future shipwrecked mariners survive until a government ship patrolling the islands could bring rescue.
While The Echo Room doesn’t take place at sea, the room Rett and Bryn find themselves trapped in is similar to these “castaway depots” in several ways. With your book club, see which connections you can find between the depots and Rett and Bryn’s “echo room.”
What survival gear does each provide?
What type of landscape surrounds each?
Who is responsible for building each?
How do people come to find themselves inside of each?
How does each represent a spirit of cooperation or competition?
To learn more about provision depots on New Zealand’s subantarctic islands, visit The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.