That's understandable. I think TS has one of the steepest learning curves of the games I play.
On the other hand, I find it tremendously rewarding, and the process of learning the cards comes much more via osmosis than studying. If you play 2-3 games against someone of approximate equal ability, then you should have a decent grasp of all the important cards. Obviously to excel at the game you need to master every card in the deck, but that is something that comes rather easily with experience rather than memorization.
Compare to Dominion: you don't need to know in advance what cards do (since you can see it, right there), and so no one actually goes and memorizes card texts, but after 1-2 games with a card you can probably recite all of its info even though you hadn't made any effort to memorize it.
The main knock against Twilight Struggle is that it's not always easy to find an opponent for a 2-3hr 2p game. But whenever I have a chance, TS is always my #1 choice of game, and I doubt that will ever change. It is incredibly tense, in a way that no other game has ever replicated for me. It's the thrill of drawing all my opponent's vicious events, desperately trying to figure out a way to deal with all the threats and crises on the board, while my opponent is doing the same.