LCD panel are not easy to use without a controller to handle timing, have RAM to refresh display and all because typically Arduino isn't fast enough to maintain stable display. But eink doesn't need fast timing or even RAM as anything drawn will stay on the panel.
Can Arduino drive eink panel directly or is a controller of some kind still needed? I found an old ebook reader with 5" display and hopelessly dead battery for only a dollar. Some brand I've never heard of, it seems to be a general reader (PDF, text, rtf, and mobi files) not connected to any DRM so it probably won't work with Amazon and other ebook stores that requires DRM to prevent unauthorized file sharing.
It is the same situation as with LCDs or TFTs: if you know nothing about the panel, you have no chance to control it or know if it is controllable with whatever processor you have.
If you know more, you could tell us, provide a photo, report any markings on it, etc.
I have not taken it apart but I figured it would be easier since the display doesn't need to be refreshed continuously like LCD. A similar sized eink panel with serial connection is around $50.
Edit: I took it apart. Absolutely no label or marking on the back of the eink panel. It has 2 connectors, one with a few pins and 3 ICs mounted directly on the cable I suspect for touch screen function. Other cable is 50 pins and no added component on the cable.
Thank you for the information.
The e-paper panels I know have markings on the flexible connection part.
I know some e-paper displays from Dalian Good Display and Waveshare. None of them has 50 pins.
50pins lets me speculate your display uses parallel connection.
50pins are too few to control the pixels directly, so the panel will at least have shift registers.
For the parallel connection HD e-papers of Dalian Good Display a powerful processor with big RAM and special voltages generation circuit is needed, e.g. their demo board DESTM32-L.
This is outside the reach of ordinary Arduinos.
Ah well. I was able to put the ebook back together and it's working fine but with bad battery.