His most famous work is Anthill in Prussia (Skruzdėlynas Prūsijoje), which tells the story of an ascetic man and woman who retreat into the Prussian wilderness.

The same year Aputis began writing his most famous work, Skruzdėlynas Prūsijoje (Anthill in Prussia), although it would not be published in 1989 due to Soviet censorship, coinciding both with the Fall of the Berlin Wall as well as Ričardas Gavelis's release of Vilnius Poker in November.

Aputis translated works by Vasil Bykaŭ, Anton Chekhov, Vasily Shukshin, Dmitry Grigorovich, and Yury Trifonov, among others.

[1] According to literary critic Jūratė Sprindytė [lt], "Aputis is one of the most original and profound portrayers of rural life, vividly capturing the mind and heart".

Like Gavelis, Aputis criticized the Soviet system's negative impact on a human's conscience and the overall experience of a person's feelings in a restrictive society.

Characters of Aputis' novels explore the human condition and are marked by a metaphysical, existential anxiety regardless of age, origin, and profession, then unseen in Lithuanian literature.

[1][11] According to literary critic Albertas Zalatorius [lt], Aputis considered humanity to be the most reliable value, and the ability to hold back, not to bow down to stupidity or brute force was the main support of self-esteem and a guarantee of success.

[6][1] In his most famous work, Anthill in Prussia, Aputis allegorically portrays the relationship between individuals and history,[2] as well as resistance to violence arising at the junction of rationality and irrationality.