Complex sentence: He found that learning from the books available in those days was very difficult due to the lack of detailed explanations provided, but the books piqued his interest in the art. So Jean began taking lessons from a local amateur magician.
Split into simpler sentences: He found that learning from the books available in those days was very difficult because the lack of detailed explanations provided. But the books piqued his interest in the art. So Jean began taking lessons from a local amateur magician.