Life & Wisdom Quote by Andrew Vachss

A crime writer and child-advocacy bulldog admitting he’s chasing perfection isn’t a humblebrag; it’s a threat and a vow. Vachss made a career out of staring at systems that fail on purpose - courts, cops, institutions that turn “procedure” into a shield for predators. In that context, “perfection” reads less like aesthetic polish and more like moral accuracy: the refusal to let a single excuse, loophole, or sloppy assumption stand.

The line works because it’s built on a productive contradiction. He names the target as impossible, then commits anyway. That’s not naivete; it’s discipline. If you accept from the start that you’ll fall short, you stop mistaking “good enough” for goodness. Perfection becomes a compass, not a destination. The subtext is a critique of complacency - the kind that hides behind realism, deadlines, or the shrug of “that’s how the world is.”

There’s also a craftsman’s edge here. Vachss wrote in a hard, pared-down style where every sentence has to earn its oxygen. Saying he’s “in pursuit” frames writing as ongoing work rather than talent, and it quietly rejects the romantic myth of the inspired genius. You grind, you revise, you sharpen, you fail again.

Given Vachss’s biography, the statement doubles as an ethical stance: when the stakes are human damage, “close enough” is complicity. The impossible standard is the point; it keeps you moving when comfort would rather you stop.