John Yau analyzes Sawako Nakayasu’s The Ants alongside her other books as being in conversation with contemporary literatures at Hyperallergic:

Nakayasu’s The Ants is a rich, dense mélange of material derived from a breathtaking range of sources, including local customs, mistranslations and science fiction. You get the feeling that she has read everybody, from Gertrude Stein to Andre Breton to Rosmarie Waldrop, and made them her own.

You can read Yau’s article in its entirety here.