Instruct: Classify Amazon reviews into positive or negative sentiment
Query: needs explication

This book (at least in translation) is in desperate need of an introduction. The chronology at the back is not sufficient to give some unfamiliar with the history of manuscript illumination in Istanbul any idea what's going on. An explanation of the controversy surrounding art and illumination and the tensions between Eastern and Western art would have been very helpful. As it was, the bulk of the book was completely lost on me! Which means that, overall, I can't really comment on the quality of the writing or the story, except to say that I found it very difficult to read and not at all enjoyable.