Tomas Moniz’s Book Notes music playlist for his novel The King of Aloe Vera

In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book. Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Hanif Abdurraqib, Andrew Sean Greer, Roxane Gay, and many others. Tomas Moniz is the rare writer whose books are charming in the best of ways. The King of Aloe Vera, his third novel, brings together a septuagenarian widower and 21-year-old queer woman in a love letter to San Francisco both present and past. Kirkus wrote of the book: “One of the best parts of this truly sweet and never cloying novel is the tension between Rey’s willingness to venture out of his comfort zone (as when he discovers a velour Gucci tracksuit suits him well) and his determination to enjoy his quiet pleasures (bananas drizzled with honey, a barbacoa burrito). Beneath the sweetness lies deep sadness, and a choice Rey considers that will remind readers that grief takes…