This Is for You

by Rob Ryan

THIS IS FOR YOU is a magical, romantic and touching story of thoughts and dreams, loneliness and longing, the personal and the universal. Each page has been cut out of paper using a scalpel, sprayed and photographed.

Genres: Art, Poetry, Graphic Novels, Picture Books, Fiction, Short Stories, Childrens

64 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2007

About the author

Rob Ryan is a British Paper cutter artist who specialises in papercutting, screen-printing and drawing and painting. He is now most famous for his detailed paper cut outs. Ryan was born on 5th November,1962 in Cyprus to Irish parents Doris and Buddy Ryan who divorced in 1966. He is the youngest of three brothers and his father was an RAF mess hall officer. He studied at Trent Polytechnic and has a Master of Arts in printmaking from the Royal College of Art/ He graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1987.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five stars for the amazingly intricate paper-cut artwork, but I wasn't fond of the message that you're not whole until you meet that "special someone."

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a cute little book. The thing that really makes it lovely is the illustrations, the paper cut work is amazing. I think if it was a more in depth book or a full out narrative but told through those illustrations, it would be amazing.

[Ingrid Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cut-outs are literally so beautiful

[myshelfbymyself · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for paper-cut artwork ~
What a meaningful and great gift for my birthday!

[Lori Capps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our first Christmas far from home and on a budget, my husband and I decided we should set some parameters for gift-giving. We picked out two boxes equal in size (small) and color (Candy Apple Red) and made some rules. We could only buy gifts that fit in the box and which totaled to less than 20 Euro. He got around the rules a little by finding this book, which matched the color of our boxes perfectly, and attaching it to the top of the box with string. So, it didn't fit inside, but who was I to complain?

This is a lovely little read. Each image is creative and impressive, more so because I can only guess how long it took to cut each image/line out and photograph it. It's about wonder and loneliness and other really Romantic ideals. As a girl--dramatic and always dreaming of True Love--I used to look out the car window at the moon on long rides home from wherever I might have been and imagine that my future soulmate might also be looking at the moon at the same time. Laughable but sincere. For all the other young Romantics who read it, this book will remind you of those days.

If this book comes to you as a gift from your true love, lovingly tied to the top of an inexpensive parcel, you might find those first words at the top of the last page particularly moving. "All of these thoughts were of you. All of these dreams were of you."

[Jozua · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's simple yet powerful, heartwarming and a piece of art.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with Rob's other creations, the illustrations/paper cut outs are absolutely stunning. You find yourself looking at the amazing pages and taking in the beautiful designs for hours.

The words in this particular book 'THIS IS FOR YOU' pulls at your heart strings and is very powerful. It can mean a lot of things to a certain someone. The journey is about being alone and finding someone and dreams in your life.

I gave 'THIS IS FOR YOU' 4 out of five stars because I think this book isn't for everyone and if you are giving this as a gift, pick carefully. There is a huge element of sadness that can pull you down but for the right person it can easily become a wonderful keepsake.

[John Young · Rating 1 out of 5]

The artwork is beautiful... very intricate paper cut-outs. Lovely lovely lovely. However, the book reads as a treatise on the value of co-dependency. Our narrator is lonely and feels existentially empty, but is rescued by his mother when he is told that somewhere, there is someone else that will fill the void he feels within himself. I guess there's something vaguely romantic about this, in a sense, but there is something more blatantly creepy and depressing by romanticizing the co-dependent ethos. But it looks pretty!

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw 2 of Rob Ryan's pieces at the Slash: Paper Under the Knife show at the Museum of Art & Design, and I was really impressed by how successful he was in integrating text to the overall pieces, as well as the incredible precision in his work. So I was so excited to get this book, which is lovely and sweet and overwhelming when you think about the amount of work that went into making each page.

[Madeleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helps with my depression so much. I've probably read it almost fifty times. It's not even about depression - that's how good it is. I carry it around with me everywhere!! This book is amazing.

[Vonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the more mainstream paper cut artists but I will say he does deserve it. He usually chooses wonderful lines, scenes, vignettes, ideas, etcetera...

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

kochajcie się i bądźcie dla siebie mili, bo tak mówi ładna książeczka z ładnymi obrazkami i trudnymi do odczytania napisami.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked A Sky Full of Kindness and the art for this one is still pretty good.

It's possible I read this wrong, or that I'm becoming jaded, but it's hard for me to not read this as "I'm sad and lonely, but mom says it's okay because there's someONE meant for me, promised for me." It's hard not to read this as "poor incels" or "it's up to women and gay men to solve male loneliness". Logically I know that Rob Ryan in 2007 did not mean that, but reading this in 2025 it's hard for me not to have those associations. I guess it's like how I have a complicated relationship with The Giving Tree. Additionally, it also seems like the message is "you're not whole until you meet that 'special someone'" and that special someone is your everything, ick. Married people have friends, family, and others in their social circle. In the book it seems like the mom can only be there for her son in a somewhat limited capacity because she says:

If I could I would but I left my heart and now I live in your father's heart

By the way the father is nowhere in the book :/ which doesn't help my misgivings

[Birdie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a 20-something millennial who doesn’t have a lot of time to sit down and read, and you’re feeling alone/you can’t seem to “live life right” according to the way everyone else is acting around you, this short book is for you♥️ my friend sent this to me in a care package and it was a fast read and I felt it understood me even though it doesn’t give a “message of hope” or an exact clear understanding of how to keep living life at the end...it may not have that “conclusion” sort of feeling, but for me it gave my heart some relief. And to quote, “Can there be anything more wonderful than the emotion of relief!”

[Millie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this to my art-director fiance for Valentine's last year. It is such a beautiful book, however not very practical to read all the way through. Although it is a book of poems, it is definitely more of a picture book (every page resembles the cover; or is more intricate!) I recommend having this book if you collect art books or are a designer of some stripe for the eye-candy or inspiration. If you are more of a poem lover, best to look elsewhere!

[BooksAreMyAbode · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Rob Ryan's artwork and until i found this book in my local charity shop I had no idea he'd published anything.

Such beautiful messages of hope and love presented in this book..I would strongly recommend you reading this little gem :)

[kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, in this book, the story is secondary. The illustrations and the love poured into them — it feels like someone is jumping off the pages and coming to hug me. I love it. My copy of this book is old and damaged and one of my most favorite possessions.

[Rayn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the cuttings and the way of storytelling.
The story just doesn't go anywhere - there's too many pages for the message, the pacing is weird. Sometimes the text is hard to read.
But I like it.

[Vcmc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the art work. I don't agree with the idea that you need that special person to feel whole.

[H R Gifford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good art

[Valentine · Rating 1 out of 5]

woo i love amatonormativity /s. i didn't actually finish this because it was boring and bad

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a lovely and endearing story. I love this artists work and his stories are so precious.

[jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd argue that its message is not stuck in romanticism, but I could be twisting the words in the direction I desire. My gift to my mother for her birthday this year.

[Hitaf Alsaffar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The delicate cut-outs are simply exquisite!

[Amber Greer · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s okay. It’s a good relaxing read but I didn’t care for it.

[Rosie Vince · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very pretty I enjoyed the art style and the story was sweet and short.

[GONE HU I-Mael · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's a wonderful book, i love it, really good book, I highly recommend it

[Lisa McKenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book for the art. I like the individual pieces but as a whole I got bored reading it all at once.

[Jaci Millette Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sans any expectations or really any idea of what this book entailed, I plucked this copy from a shelf in the art section and decided to give it a go on a whim-- and boy, I did not know that this lovely collection of paper art would also succinctly encapsulate the complex human experience. Ryan not only creates charming and intricate paper art with lovely nature inspired motifs, but weaves a poignant and fiercely honest meditations on loneliness, love, existentialism, and hope. My favorite page reads "What was important, I don't know anymore. What happens when you see less and less the good and more the more the bad? Is that when you begin to die? I have a feeling of longing for something that will last. That will improve. The thought of improvement gives me hope. Without hope I won't survive. I just want things to improve."

This is the book I needed when i was 18: a rumination of the dissatisfaction of life one cannot clearly communicate to other people, and a beautiful summation of the tinges of depression without just a medical jargon and laundry list of symptoms. But truthfully, now also proves timely for this book to enter my internal dialogue and have a conversation with me. As someone undergoing a lot of stressful changes, the hope and excitement of improvement and fulfillment keep me going. I embrace the chaos of change as an exchange for improvement. Ryan argues that a life with everything-- without the deep abysmal lows that spawn the ambition to strive and become better-- would be an awful one. I agree.

I'm inclined to purchase a copy of this book not only so I can continuously soak up its little beauty, but to reread in those harrowing moments of life when you think "Why do I feel this way again?" 'What is the point?" or times where change is the only constant. This book a a little treasure and a perfect gift for someone, especially an adolescent acutely attuned to the pains of life, who might not yet have the language to articulate it or the knowledge that many can empathize with these uncomfortable feelings.

Another favorite page of mine reads "The problem is your heart. It is too big for you alone. And with only you inside, it feels like an empty place." At the moment of reading this, I felt the appropriateness of the title envelope me as I thought to myself, this is for me, this is for me.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

As soon as I saw this book on the shelf, I knew I had to have it. Without knowing what it was about. Had to have it. Last year at work, we had a beautiful window display for Rob Ryan's picture book, The Invisible Kingdom. It was so, so beautiful! And I knew, when I saw This Is For You, I had to have this book for my own, knowing it will be just as beautiful. What I didn't expect was for This Is For You to be so deeply moving!

Everything in this book is papercut - words and pictures cut from paper. Every single page, and there are 64 pages of these intricate, detailed, stunning images. The time and effort that had to have gone into this book is astounding. This Is For You isn't just a book with a cool story/message, it's a complete work of art. Although each image links to the one after for the story, each image is a completely singular thing of beauty. You're reading the story, but you're also amazed by the art!

And then there's the story. It's pretty much a love letter from the narrator - and considering it mentions papercutting, I would assume perhaps, actually, the author - to some unknown person, the person they will end up being with. Think Michael Bublé's "I Just Haven't Met You Yet", in some ways, it's along similar lines. It's a love letter of hope and joy, of yearning and looking forward to no longer feeling "empty" once they're big heart finally holds someone else's too, and of the complete joy that, despite still feeling empty, knowing that emptiness will be filled. With love. It's an absolutely exquisite story; uplifting, full of hope, and profoundly moving.

This book is too beautiful for words, and I absolutely must get my hands on every other book Rob Ryan has written and collaborated on. I am completely awe-inspired.