In his Author's Note at the end of the novel, Robbins directs interested readers to several scholarly works on ethnoastronomy and African culture.

Actually, Robbins earliest literary precursors may include John Lily's Euphues and Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy. He has acknowledged his appreciation of E. L. Doctorow, Giinter Grass, Thomas Pynchon, Ishmael Reed, and Alice Walker. In terms of style, he may owe a debt to both Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller. In subject matter, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas has been compared to Thomas Wolfe's novel The Bonfire of the Vanities (1984-1985) and the film Wall Street.