"Jack, July" & "Sh'khol"

In class on Tuesday night, we're going to talk about endings--again! you can never talk about endings too much in fiction. Likewise, you can never talk too much about beginnings. Someone mentioned earlier this week about the first person narration of "Jack, July." Actually, it's third person. (Check, I'll wait.) That's an understandable mistake. Victor Ladato's story is what I would call a close third person limited omniscient, meaning the author takes us close into the protag's consciousness. How do you think he does that? And conversely, how does Colum McCann keep a more distant 3rd person in "Sh'khol"? What's the need for either a close or a distant third person?